Diabetes Insipidus

Diabetes insipidus is a rare and treatable condition in which the body produces too much urine.

What is diabetes insipidus?

Diabetes insipidus is a rare and treatable condition in which the body produces too much urine.  Diabetes insipidus can be chronic (life-long) or temporary.  It can be mild or severe, depending on the cause.

Diabetes insipidus is mostly caused by a problem with how the body makes and uses antidiuretic hormone (ADH, or vasopressin).  Either the body doesn’t make enough ADH, or isn’t releasing enough of it, or the kidneys don’t use it properly.

What is the antidiuretic hormone (ADH, or vasopressin)?

ADH or vasopressin is a hormone produced by the hypothalamus.  It is stored and released by the pituitary gland.  It helps regulate the water balance in the body, by controlling the amount of water the kidneys reabsorb, while filtering waste out of the blood.  The body normally produces and releases more ADH when dehydrated or losing blood pressure.

The increase in ADH tells the kidneys to hold onto more water, instead of releasing it in the urine.  In most of the cases of diabetes insipidus, the hypothalamus isn’t making enough ADH, the pituitary gland isn’t releasing enough ADH or the kidneys aren’t properly using ADH.  This causes frequent and excessive water loss through urine.

Who does diabetes insipidus affect?

• Diabetes insipidus is very rare. It affects roughly 1 in 25,000 people or about 0.004% of the global population.
• People of all ages can develop diabetes insipidus.
• There are four types of diabetes insipidus.
• Gestational diabetes insipidus only affects woman who are pregnant. It is a rare complication of pregnancy affecting between 2 – 4 out of 100,000 pregnancies.  It tends to occur at the end of the second trimester or during the third trimester.

What are the symptoms of diabetes insipidus?

The main symptoms of diabetes insipidus include:

• Often need to urinate, including through the night.
• Passing large amounts of light-coloured or clear urine each time urinating.
• Feeling very thirsty and drinking liquids very often.

If diabetes insipidus isn’t treated, or if a person with diabetes insipidus stops drinking fluids, it can quickly lead to dehydration.

As other conditions, including diabetes mellitus, cause frequent thirst and urination, part of the process of diagnosing diabetes insipidus involves ruling out other conditions.