Healthy Diet Linked to Improved Life Expectancy in Kidney Disease Patients
Healthy dietary patterns are associated with lower mortality in people with kidney disease, according to a new study.
“Nutrition has the potential to unlock progress in improving life expectancy for people with kidney disease—a treatment approach that has been neglected until recently,” said study author Suetonia C. Palmer, PhD, in department of medicine at the University of Otago Christchurch in Christchurch, New Zealand.
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This systematic review aimed to evaluate the association between dietary patterns and mortality or end-stage kidney disease among adults with chronic kidney disease. Two independent review authors systematically searched Medline, Embase, and reference lists to Nov. 24, 2015. Eligible studies included longitudinal cohort studies reporting the association of dietary patterns with mortality, cardiovascular events, or end-stage kidney disease. In the end, the researchers used 7 studies with 15,285 participants.
Healthy dietary patterns were generally higher in fruit and vegetables, fish, legumes, cereals, whole grains, and fiber and lower in red meat, salt, and refined sugars. In 6 studies, healthy dietary patterns were consistently associated with lower mortality (3983 events; adjusted relative risk 0.73, 95% CI 0.63-0.83; risk difference 46 fewer (29-63 fewer) events per 1000 people over 5 years). They found no statistically significant association between healthy dietary patterns and risk of end-stage kidney disease (1027 events; 1.04, 0.68-1.40).
The consistency of the results surprised Dr Palmer. “Usually, in this type of study, the results of individual studies can be quite variable. But in this study, they all came to essentially the same conclusion, meaning this is a strong hypothesis for future clinical trials: Does a healthy diet help life quality and expectancy for people with kidney disease?”
Interventions to support adherence to increased fruit and vegetable, fish, legume, whole grains, and fiber intake and reduced red meat, sodium, and refined sugars could be effective tools to lower mortality in people with kidney disease, concluded the investigators, with Dr Palmer adding they plan to conduct trials of adherence to healthy diets and ways to support people with kidney disease to make these dietary changes.
—Mike Bederka
Reference:
Kelly JT, Palmer SC, Wai SN, et al. Healthy dietary patterns and risk of mortality and end-stage kidney disease in CKD: A meta-analysis of cohort studies [published online Dec. 8, 2016]. Clin J Am Soc Nephrol. doi: 10.2215/CJN.06190616