India, April 14 -- While diabetes and hypertension remain the primary drivers of kidney failure, medical experts are sounding the alarm on hidden threats that often fly under the patient's radar. Also read | Kidney disease symptoms to look out for and when to get treated

In an interview with HT Lifestyle, Dr Anurag Gupta, a senior consultant nephrologist and dialysis director at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Delhi, with two decades of experience, warned that lifestyle factors like chronic burnout and over-the-counter painkillers are fueling a silent epidemic of chronic kidney disease (CKD).

CKD is notoriously difficult to detect without clinical testing because the kidneys are masters of compensation until they reach a breaking point, Dr Gupt...