MONROE, La. (KNOE) – This year is Kidney Awareness Month, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has announced that 1 in 7 people will develop chronic kidney disease. It is the 10th leading cause of death in Louisiana.

According to the CDC, about 9 out of 10 people who develop chronic kidney disease are unaware they have the disease. Health experts suggest that you can lower your risk of kidney failure by getting tested regularly, as there are few or no symptoms.

Chronic kidney disease develops when the kidneys lose their ability to remove waste products and maintain fluid and chemical balance in the body.

Dr. Larry Olinde with Ochsner LSU Health said people should get tested in their 20s. Dr. Olinde said that during the examination, blood pressure will be measured and blood and urine tests will be performed. He said a blood test would measure creatinine.

“Creatinine, which is a breakdown of muscle metabolism, is an indicator of how much kidney failure people have. What we’re most interested in in a urine test is whether there’s protein in the urine. Protein should not be present in normal patients, or at least in very minimal amounts. However, proteinuria, in which protein spills into the urine, even if kidney function is normal is an indicator of kidney disease,” says Dr. Olinde.

Dr. Olinde said it’s important to have regular physical exams each year to detect kidney problems. If you have diabetes, we recommend seeing your doctor every three months.

According to the National Kidney Foundation, people with kidney disease usually do not show symptoms until the disease is advanced. Signs of kidney problems include blood in the urine and foamy urine.

Dr. Olinde said it’s important to pay close attention to everything because there are few symptoms in the early stages of kidney disease. Other symptoms of kidney disease include increased urination, difficulty sleeping, and fatigue.

Risk factors for this disease include diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, and family history.

The CDC said that if left untreated, chronic kidney disease can lead to kidney failure and early cardiovascular disease.

“It’s called acute kidney disease, and it’s completely different from chronic kidney disease. And those patients tend to recover, whereas with chronic kidney disease, once it starts to progress, they can no longer receive drug therapy. And most people end up on dialysis, and most people stay on dialysis until they die, until a kidney transplant is possible,” Dr. Olinde said.

He said you can lower your chances of developing kidney disease by eating a healthy diet, exercising, quitting smoking and managing blood pressure problems.

For more information about chronic kidney disease, visit the Davita Kidney Care website.

To learn more about the symptoms of kidney disease, visit the National Kidney Foundation website.

To learn more about kidney disease statistics, visit the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases website.

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