Tuesday, February 22, 2017

An article that appeared recently in the journal Nutrients reports a lower risk of developing chronic kidney disease among men and women aged 30 years and older who consumed higher amounts of folate, vitamin B12, vitamin C, vitamin D, vitamin E, magnesium and potassium in comparison with those who consumed lower amounts.

The investigation utilized data from the Tehran Lipid and Glucose Study, which enrolled 15,005 participants between 1990 and 2001. Follow-up examinations were conducted every three years to update biochemical, clinical and dietary measurements. The current study included 1,692 participants in the third follow-up survey, who were followed through 2009-2011. Dietary questionnaire responses provided information concerning vitamin and mineral intake. Estimated glomerular filtration rate values were used to determine the presence of chronic kidney disease.

Subjects whose folate levels were among the top 20% of participants had a 56% lower risk of developing chronic kidney disease over follow-up compared to those whose intake was among the lowest 20%. For those whose intake of vitamins B12, C, D and E were among the top fifth, the risk was lower by 43%, 62%, 61% and 55% respectively. Among minerals, an intake of magnesium that was among the top 20% was associated with a 59% lower risk of CKD and for the top intake of potassium, the risk was 53% lower. High sodium intake was associated with a significantly increased risk of CKD.

The authors suggest that the reduction of inflammatory factors by micronutrients could play a protective role against the development of CKD. They observe that antioxidant vitamins associated with a lower risk of CKD in this study are associated a decrease in oxidative and DNA damage, among other protective effects.

"To our knowledge, this is the first study investigating the association between micronutrient intake and risk of incident CKD in a population-based cohort study," authors Hossein Farhadnejad and colleagues announce. "In conclusion, the results of our investigation suggest that higher intakes of several micronutrients such as vitamins C, E, D, B12, folate, magnesium, and potassium decrease the risk of CKD, whereas high intakes of sodium are associated with increased risk of incident CKD."