Healthy Diet, Moderate Alcohol Lowers Risk Of Kidney Disease

13 Aug 2013 --- A healthy diet and moderate alcohol consumption is linked to a decreased risk or progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in patients with type 2 diabetes, according to a study published by JAMA Internal Medicine.

Type 2 diabetes-related CKD has become a major public health issue. Researchers at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada examined the association of a healthy diet, alcohol, protein and sodium intake with incident or progression of CKD in patients with type 2 diabetes. The observational study included 6,213 patients with type 2 diabetes in the ONTARGET trial.

Results showed that 31.7% of patients developed CKD and 8.3% of patients died after 5.5 years of follow-up. In comparison to patients in the least healthy scoring group on an index that assessed diet quality, patients in the healthiest group showed a lower risk of developing CKD as well as mortality. Those patients that ate more than three servings of fruits per week had a lower risk of CKD, compared to those who ate fruit less frequently. Patients in the lowest group of total and animal protein intake had an increased risk of CKD compared with patients in the highest group. Also, sodium intake was not associated with CKD, but moderate alcohol intake reduced the risk of developing CKD and mortality. Findings from the study showed that a healthy diet as well as moderate alcohol intake can decrease the risk or progression of CKD among those with type 2 diabetes.