The link between dietary habits and chronic kidney disease (CKD) is not fully known.
In a new study, researchers found that skipping breakfast and late dinner might be linked to a higher risk of proteinuria, which is a key factor of CKD.
Proteinuria is increased levels of protein in the urine. This condition can be a sign of kidney damage.
The research was conducted by a team from Kanazawa University.
CKD is defined as either a structural and/or functional abnormality of the kidney or a reduced glomerular filtration.
CKD is a risk factor for end-stage renal disease and cardiovascular disease, which is a major health problem in several countries.
The most common causes of CKD are diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity.
Although these diseases can be treated individually with drug treatment, in recent years, treatment with behavioral changes such as diet and exercise have attracted attention.
In the study, the team focused on proteinuria which is a key prognostic factor of CKD.
Proteinuria is generally defined as dipstick urinary protein excretion 1+ . Proteinuria is an early sign of kidney disease.
The researchers used a questionnaire used in annual medical check-ups to examine over 26,000 patients aged >40 years between 1998 and 2014.
Unhealthy dietary habits were defined as follows: late dinner (eating dinner within 2 h of going to bed at a frequency of three or more times a week); skipping breakfast (three or more times a week); quick eating (eating faster than people of the same age group); and late evening snack (eating snacks after dinner three or more times a week).
Quick eating (29%) was the most common unhealthy dietary habit in the whole patient population, followed by late dinner (19%), late evening snack (16%), and skipping breakfast (9%).
During an average follow-up period of over 3 years, 10% of patients developed proteinuria. Of these dietary habits, skipping breakfast and late dinner were linked to an increased risk of developing proteinuria.
Surprisingly, unhealthy dietary habits were not linked to changes in body weight.
The team says unhealthy dietary habits might be associated with a risk factor for CKD irrespective of changes in body weight.
One author of the study is Professor Takashi Wada.
The study is published in Nutrients.
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