Waistline: Key Risk Factor for Kidney Disease

In people with chronic kidney disease (CKD), various abdominal fat measures and lower physical fitness levels are linked to a higher cardiovascular risk, said new study.

In this cohort of patients with CKD, Sankar D. Navaneethan et al studied whether different obesity measures such as intra-abdominal fat, liver fat, and subcutaneous fat (obtained using an MRI scan) were associated with known cardiometabolic risk factors.

‘Obesity as assessed by body mass index is associated with an increased risk of heart disease and progression of kidney disease in those with chronic kidney disease (CKD).’

The authors further assessed whether physical function (measured using a 400m walk test) was independently associated with the same cardiometabolic risk factors. Their analysis suggests that all measures of higher fat content were associated with an increased level of cardiometabolic risk factors.

While slower walk time was associated with an increased level of cardiometabolic risk factors, it did not modify the associations between fat measures and these risk factors.

Source: Eurekalert