Vegetarian Diet and Kidney Function in Women and Men From Different Ethnic Groups: The Healthy Life in an Urban...

A vegetarian diet may benefit kidney function. However, the sex-specific association of adherence to a vegetarian diet and change in kidney function, and its potential underlying mechanisms remain to be established.

Our observational study included baseline and follow-up data on vegetarian diet adherence and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) from Dutch, South-Asian Surinamese, African Surinamese, Turkish, and Moroccan participants from Healthy Life in an Urban Setting, a multiethnic prospective cohort in Amsterdam. The median time between baseline and follow-up was 81 (70, 95) months. Vegetarian diet adherence was determined through a questionnaire and intake of dietary components was calculated using the food frequency questionnaire. The sex-specific association between vegetarian diet adherence and change in eGFR and albumin-creatinine ratio (ACR) was assessed with linear regression analysis. To explore whether associations were consistent by ethnic group, we stratified the groups of women and men by ethnicity.

Among 5,776 women and 4,443 men (median age: 48 [38, 55] and 48 [37, 56], respectively), the median eGFR was 102 (89, 112) and 101 (89, 111) at baseline and 92 (80, 104) and 93 (80, 103) at follow-up. We did not find an association between vegetarian diet adherence and eGFR or ACR change for both sexes. However, a 1 g/day higher fiber intake at baseline was associated with a lower decrease in eGFR of 0.10 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.02, 0.17) in women and 0.07 (95% CI 0.00, 0.15) in men. Moreover, a 1 g/day higher intake of processed meat intake at baseline was associated with a 0.09 (95% CI 0.04, 0.14) higher increase in ACR in women.

We found no evidence that vegetarian diet adherence was associated with a slower kidney function decline for both sexes across ethnic groups. Higher fiber intake and lower processed meat intake (women only) were associated with slower kidney function decline.