Kidney disease can cause gout, and gout can also lead to kidney disease. Because uric acid is filtered through the kidneys, the two diseases are related. It’s most common for kidney disease to lead to gout: when you have chronic kidney disease (CKD), your kidneys do not work as well as they should to filter waste out of your body. Many people with early stage kidney disease do not know they have it, and gout can be an early warning sign of kidney disease. Gout can also lead to kidney disease, although it’s less common: gout is caused by too much uric acid in the blood, and this excessive uric acid level can lead to kidney disease and failure. Ultimately, we know there are connections between kidney disease and gout, although it’s not totally clear which causes the other.