Kidney patients' relatives at risk, study shows

The chances of kidney patients' close relatives developing similar problems are between a third and a half if they smoke, suffer from high blood pressure and are elderly, a study by the Hong Kong Society of Nephrology has found. It surveyed 844 parents, children and siblings of 466 kidney patients in 2008/09. The urine samples of 23.1 per cent had excessive serum proteins while 25.9 per cent had blood present. Both are signs of possible kidney damage.