Study: Plant protein-based diets linked with lower risk of CKD
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Key takeaways:
- Patients with high plant protein diets had lower risk for CKD, consistent across different analyses.
- During a median follow-up of 9.9 years, 3.2% of participants developed incident CKD.
Maintaining a large plant protein-based diet was associated with a lower risk of chronic kidney disease, according to recently published data.
“In patients with [chronic kidney disease] CKD, dietary modifications are important to slow progression and reduce complications,” Ga Young Heo, MD, of the Institute of Kidney Disease Research at Yonsei University in the Republic of Korea, and colleagues, wrote.
Researchers led a prospective cohort study, recruiting 117,809 participants from the UK Biobank between 2006 and 2010, with an eGFR greater than or equal to 60 mL/min/1.73 m2, a urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR) less than 30 mg/g and no CKD history.
Mean baseline eGFR was 96 mL/min/1.73 m2, and the mean for plant protein intake was about 0.38 g/kg/day. Primary outcome was the incidence of CKD.
During a median follow-up of 9.9 years, 3,745 (3.2%) participants developed incident CKD. Results, however, revealed that patients with higher dietary plant protein intakes had lower risk for CKD. The association was consistent across different analyses, including those based on CKD diagnostic codes or two consecutive measures of eGFR less than 60 mL/min/1.73 m2 and UACR greater than 30 mg/g, according to the researchers.
When comparing quartiles of plant protein intake, the adjusted HRs (aHRs) were 0.90, 0.83 and 0.82, respectively, for the second, third and highest quartiles compared with the lowest. For every 0.1 g/kg/day increase in plant protein intake, aHR decreased to 0.96.
“Higher plant protein intake was associated with a lower risk of incident CKD after adjusting for confounding variables,” according to the authors. “An additional analysis using a stricter definition of CKD and various sensitivity analyses yielded similar findings.”
There were limitations in the study, including potential incomplete dietary assessments and the specific characteristics of participants in the U.K. Biobank, which may limit the generalizability of the findings, according to the researchers. Further interventional studies that demonstrate kidney protective benefits of plant protein intake are warranted, Heo and colleagues wrote.
Reference:
- Plant-based protein intake may reduce kidney disease risk. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/997292#:~:text=This%20study%20led%20by%20Ga,lower%20risk%20of%20developing%20CKD. Published July 31, 2023. Accessed Aug. 3, 2023.
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