Associations Between Life's Essential 8 and Chronic Kidney Disease

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is closely associated with cardiovascular disease. We aimed to examine the association of Life's Essential 8 (LE8), the recently updated measurement of cardiovascular health, with the prevalence of CKD among US adults.

This population-based cross-sectional study used data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2007 to 2018 and included adults aged ≥20 years. Multivariable logistic and restricted cubic spline models were used to assess the associations between LE8 and CKD. Among 24 960 participants, 4437 were determined to have CKD (weighted percentage, 14.11%). After the adjustment of potential confounders, higher LE8 scores were associated with reduced odds of CKD (odds ratio for each 10-point increase, 0.79 [95% CI, 0.76-0.83]), and a nonlinear dose-response relationship was observed. Similar patterns were also identified in the associations of health behavior and health factor scores with CKD. Meanwhile, higher scores for blood glucose (odds ratio, for each 10-point increase, 0.88 [95% CI, 0.87-0.90]) and blood pressure (odds ratio, for each 10-point increase, 0.92 [95% CI, 0.91-0.94]) in the LE8 component are significantly associated with a lower prevalence of CKD. The inversed association of LE8 score and CKD was significantly stronger among middle-aged, male, and coupled participants.

LE8 was negatively associated with the prevalence of CKD in a nonlinear fashion. Promoting adherence to optimal cardiovascular health levels may be beneficial to reduce the burden of CKD.