In a new study from the University of Manchester, researchers found that obesity is likely to cause an increased risk of kidney disease.
The findings suggest that tackling obesity could have a powerful impact on kidney health.
In the study, the team used data from around 300,000 participants in the UK Biobank.
They extracted information on the two most common measures of obesity, body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC), and different measures of kidney function.
They found that increasing values of genetically predicted BMI and WC were causally associated with the measures of kidney function.
The team was able to show that the causal effect of obesity on the kidney is only partly mediated by high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes.
Through analysis of 467 kidney tissue samples, the study also uncovered the signatures of obesity on the human kidney—groups of genes and pathways that may potentially explain the effects of obesity on the kidney.
The evidence substantiates the value of weight loss as a strategy of preventing or reversing a decline in kidney health, as well as decreasing the risk of renal disease.
They hope their findings will help to stimulate further research and drive the development of public health policies to improve kidney health and prevent kidney disease through encouraging weight loss.
Chronic kidney disease affects more than 10 percent of adults worldwide and is predicted to become a global threat to public health.
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The study is published in Cardiovascular Research and was conducted by Dr. Xiaoguang Xu et al.
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