FIGURE 1:

Interaction between ageing and kidney disease. Chronological ageing is associated to a progressive decrease of multiple kidney functions, including glomerular filtration. While the age-associated decrease in eGFR has been considered ‘physiological’ by some, when it reaches the threshold values to diagnose chronic kidney disease (CKD), it is associated with adverse outcomes, including increased mortality, and should no longer be viewed as ‘physiological’, in the same manner that the age-associated development of hypertension is not considered ‘physiological’. Both ageing and CKD are risk factors for acute kidney injury (AKI) and AKI may accelerate CKD progression. Through multiple mechanisms, CKD accelerates biological ageing.