Plant-Based Diet Mitigated the Risk of Chronic Kidney Disease in Overweight Individuals.

INTRODUCTION

Being overweight, with a body mass index (BMI) ≥25, is associated with multiple comorbidities, including chronic kidney disease (CKD). A plant-based diet, such as a vegetarian or lacto-ovo vegetarian diet, serves as a preventive strategy for CKD in patients. We hypothesized that a vegetarian diet lowers the occurrence of CKD in overweight subjects.

METHODS

The retrospective study was performed in Taipei Tzu Chi Hospital by a self-paid health exam. Age younger than 40 years old and the subjects without sufficient biochemical or hematologic results were excluded. The incidence of CKD was evaluated according to the self-reported eating habits (vegetarians, lacto-ovo vegetarians, or omnivores), overweight (with a BMI ≥25 or higher abdominal circumference [>90 cm in males or >80 cm in females]) or not, or other biochemical or hematologic parameters. The interaction between different factors for the development of CKD was analyzed by structural equation modeling (SEM).

RESULTS

Among these 6,567 subjects, the subjects with lacto-ovo vegetarian diet had a lower incidence of CKD than those with other dietary habits such as vegans and omnivores. The incidence of overweight was the highest in the omnivore group. The lacto-ovo vegetarian group had a lower risk of CKD occurrence than the omnivore group. After adjusting for age and sex in SEM, the lacto-ovo vegetarian diet lowered the risk of CKD for those with a high BMI or a higher triglyceride (TG)/high-density lipoprotein (HDL) ratio.

CONCLUSION

Lacto-ovo vegetarian dietary habits are associated with a lower occurrence of CKD in obese patients. The mitigating effect of the lacto-ovo vegetarian diet was due to the hazard of a higher BMI and TG/HDL ratio.