Diabetes increases kidney disease risk

Too many people who have diabetes don't know about their increased risk of kidney disease, a British researcher says. Researchers led by Gurch Randhawa of the University of Bedfordshire in England conducted a multicultural study - including 23 white and 25 South Asian patients with diabetes. The residents of England were between the ages of 34 and 79 years and had all been referred to a kidney specialist. The study, published in the Journal of Renal Care, said most diabetes patients are completely unaware of how diabetes can affect their kidneys until sent to a specialist. "The people we spoke to experienced feelings of surprise, fear and regret when they found out their kidney had been affected," Randhawa says in a statement. "Some patients saw their kidney referral as a 'wake-up call' that they needed to manage their diabetes more seriously, while others were concerned about their lack of knowledge about the disease. What was clear was that many of the patients we spoke to were much more aware of how diabetes could affect their eyes and feet than their kidneys."