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Updated: Jun 20, 2025
Assessment of Vascular Function in Patients With Chronic Kidney Disease
Published on: June 16, 2014
The protective role of cardiovascular health against kidney stones: A study based on LE8 score
Xingye Wang1, Hang Xie1, Xuegang Xie1
1Department of Structural Heart Disease, the First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, No.277, Yanta West Road, Xi'an, 710061, Shaanxi, China.
Insights
Higher cardiovascular health (CVH) levels, measured by Life's Essential 8 (LE8) scores, are linked to a reduced risk of kidney stones. This study indicates a significant inverse relationship between CVH and kidney stone prevalence.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Health
- Nephrology
- Public Health
Background:
- The American Heart Association introduced Life's Essential 8 (LE8) to assess cardiovascular health (CVH).
- Understanding the relationship between CVH and kidney stone risk is crucial for public health.
- Previous research has not extensively explored this specific association.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the correlation between cardiovascular health (CVH), quantified by the LE8 score, and the prevalence of kidney stones.
- To analyze this association in a representative sample of US adults.
- To determine if improved CVH is linked to a lower risk of kidney stones.
Main Methods:
- Utilized data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 2007-2016.
- Employed logistic regression to assess the association between LE8 scores (categorized as low, moderate, high) and kidney stone prevalence.
- Conducted sensitivity analyses and restricted cubic spline (RCS) regression to confirm findings and explore non-linear relationships.
Main Results:
- Included 19,988 participants; 9.95% reported kidney stones.
- Higher LE8 scores demonstrated a significant inverse linear association with kidney stone prevalence (OR 0.86 per 10-unit increase).
- Participants with moderate and high CVH had significantly lower odds of kidney stones compared to those with low CVH (OR 0.80 and 0.54, respectively).
Conclusions:
- Optimal cardiovascular health, as indicated by higher LE8 scores, is independently associated with a lower prevalence of kidney stones.
- A linear, dose-response relationship exists between CVH levels and kidney stone risk.
- Further longitudinal and intervention studies are warranted to confirm causality and explore the impact of promoting CVH on kidney stone incidence.
Objectives:
The American Heart Association recently released an updated algorithm for evaluating cardiovascular health (CVH)-Life's Essential 8 (LE8) score. Our objective was to investigate the correlation between levels of CVH, as determined by the LE8 score, and the risk of kidney stones among a representative sample of adults in the United States.
Methods:
We included data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) covering the years 2007-2016 for further analysis. The LE8 score, a comprehensive measurement ranging from 0 to 100, was used to evaluate overall CVH and classified into three categories: low (0-49), moderate (50-79), and high (80-100) CVH. Logistic regression was employed to assess the association between the LE8 score and kidney stones. Furthermore, sensitivity analysis was conducted to validate the findings, and the presence of a non-linear relationship was examined using restricted cubic spline (RCS) regression methods.
Results:
A total of 19,988 participants were included in this study (weighted mean age, 47.99 years; 95 % confidence interval [CI]: 47.46-48.53 years), with 10,319 being female (weighted percentage, 51.98 %; 95 % CI: 51.26-52.71 %) and 1923 identified as having kidney stones (weighted percentage, 9.95 %; 95 % CI: 9.41-10.53 %). In the fully-adjusted multivariable model, higher LE8 scores were associated with prevalence of self-reported kidney stones (odds ratio [OR] for a 10-unit increase in score, 0.86; 95 % CI: 0.82-0.91), presenting a linear dose-response relationship. Compared to the low CVH group, participants in the moderate and high CVH groups exhibited a lower prevalence of kidney stones (OR = 0.80; 95 % CI: 0.69-0.92; OR = 0.54; 95 % CI: 0.43-0.69, respectively). Similar trends were observed when assessing the association between health behavior scores and kidney stones. Moreover, the negative correlation between the LE8 score and the prevalence of kidney stones was markedly more pronounced in various stratified analyses.
Conclusion:
Our study suggests that a higher level of CVH, as assessed by the LE8 metrics, is independently associated with a lower prevalence of self-reported kidney stones in a linear relationship. Further research, particularly through longitudinal or intervention studies, is required to establish whether actively promoting optimal CVH levels can effectively reduce the incidence of kidney stones.
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