Healthy dietary patterns may improve longevity in patients with chronic kidney disease

A diet that emphasizes healthy foods rather than individual nutrients may help patients with chronic kidney disease live longer. The findings appear in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (CJASN).

Patients with chronic kidney disease are advised to follow dietary recommendations that restrict individual nutrients such as phosphorus, potassium, protein, and sodium; however, empirical evidence suggests that these restrictions—which can be difficult to abide by—have limited effects on reducing patients' risk of premature death.

Emerging evidence indicates that overall eating patterns may have greater effects on patients' health and longevity. To investigate, a tem led by Giovanni Strippoli, MD, PhD (University of Bari, in Italy and Diaverum, in Sweden), and Jaimon Kelly (Bond University, in Australia) analyzed the medical literature, finding 7 relevant studies that included a total of 15,285 participants.

Healthy dietary patterns were generally higher in fruits, vegetables, fish, legumes, cereals, whole grains, and fiber, and they were lower in red meat, salt, and refined sugars. In 6 studies, healthy dietary patterns were consistently associated with a 20% to 30% lower rate of mortality, with 46 fewer deaths per 1000 people over 5 years. There was no significant association between healthy dietary patterns and risk of kidney failure.

"Chronic kidney disease now affects about 10% to 13% of the adult population and substantially increases risks of cardiovascular complications and early death," said Prof. Strippoli. "In the absence of randomized trials and large individual cohort studies, this study is the best available evidence to drive clinical decision-making by patients and doctors on whole dietary approaches in chronic kidney disease."