Alcohol and Exercise Affect Declining Kidney Function in Healthy Males Regardless of Obesity: A Prospective Cohort Study

Background

Although lifestyle is associated with metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular diseases, there has been no sufficient evidence of lifestyles on incident chronic kidney disease (CKD). The purpose of this prospective cohort study is to investigate the effects of lifestyles on kidney function in healthy people.

Methods

A total of 7473 healthy people were enrolled in this Saitama Cardiometabolic Disease and Organ Impairment Study, Japan. Data on alcohol consumption, exercise frequency, and sleep duration were collected. The outcome event was incident CKD or decrease in estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) by >25% in 3 years.

Results

Subjects were classified into four groups according to body mass index and gender. Mean ± standard deviation of age was 38.8±10.5 years; eGFR, 78.1±15.2 ml/min/1.73m². In the male groups, multivariate logistic regression models showed that the outcome events were associated with a small amount of alcohol consumed (20 to 140g of alcohol/week) (ref. more than 140g of alcohol/week); non-obese male, adjusted odds ratio 1.366 (95% confidence interval, 1.086, 1.718); obese male (body mass index ≥25), 1.634 (1.160, 2.302); and with frequent exercise (twice a week or more) (ref. no exercise); non-obese male, 1.417 (1.144, 1.754); obese male, 1.842 (1.317, 2.577). Sleep duration was not associated with the outcome events.

Conclusion

These findings suggest that, regardless of obesity, a small amount of alcohol consumed and high exercise frequency were associated with the increased risk of loss of kidney function in the male groups.