We’ve worked with Breakthrough T1D (formally JDRF) and Kidney Research UK to find the most urgent research gaps which need filling to protect the kidney health of people living diabetes.
The research gaps:
1. Understanding how diabetic kidney disease develops
2. Preventing diabetic kidney disease
3. Addressing health inequalities in kidney care
4. Improving diagnosis
5. Improving treatments and care
6. Supporting self-management
The priorities and recommendations emerged from a workshop we held last year that brought together healthcare professionals, research experts, and people living with diabetes and/or kidney disease.
The group used their different perspectives to pinpoint gaps in our understanding of kidney disease, how best to prevent and manage it, and crucial areas needing more research and funding.
Why we took action
Diabetes is the leading cause of kidney damage in the UK. High sugar levels in the blood can harm the small blood vessels and tiny filters in the kidneys.
Around one in three people living with diabetes develop kidney damage during their lifetime. But there’s not enough funding for research focused on diabetes and kidney health. And there are also gaps in kidney care. People living with diabetes receive little information about their risks of kidney damage or how to manage it day-to-day.
We also know that essential care, including annual checks for kidney damage, is not being delivered to everyone that needs it. People from the most deprived areas and those from ethnic minority backgrounds are most likely to miss out on essential care checks. This can contribute to the unfair and unacceptable health inequalities seen in diabetic kidney disease.
Anna Morris, our Assistant Director of Research, highlights the need for greater investment in research focused on eliminating these health inequalities. She says:
“Funding research will generate high-quality data, increasing our understanding of the roots of health inequalities in all areas of diabetic kidney disease. This will open the door to fresh interventions to transform kidney disease prevention, diagnosis, and management for those who need it most.
“The importance of an annual kidney check for everyone with diabetes cannot be overemphasised. Ensuring equal access to these checks is a vital part of addressing existing health inequalities.”
What’s next?
We’re working with Breakthrough T1D and Kidney Research UK to push for research investment in these six key areas. We hope the priorities and recommendations will kick-start new thinking and lines of investigation that will improve kidney care for everyone with diabetes.
To take the first steps, we’ve already put a call out to scientists to come up with research ideas to address inequalities in diabetes care. And we’re putting health inequalities at the top of the agenda whenever we can.
We hosted a session at our Professional Conference 2025 to think about the need for healthcare professionals, policy makers, and charities to join forces to take action.
Elsewhere, we’re working with Kidney Research UK to roll out training for healthcare professionals working in GPs, which is focused on improving the diagnosis of diabetic kidney disease.
For a closer look at the recommendations, read the full paper.
