Healthy diet, moderate alcohol reduces kidney disease risk in diabetics

A new study has linked eating a healthy diet and drinking a moderate amount of alcohol to decreased risk or progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

According to the study background, type 2 diabetes and associated CKD have become major public health problems. However, little is known about the long-term effect of diet on the incidence and progression of early-stage diabetic CKD.

Daniela Dunkler, Ph.D., of McMaster University, Ontario, Canada, and colleagues examined the association of a healthy diet, alcohol, protein and sodium intake with incident or progression of CKD among patients with type 2 diabetes.

All 6,213 patients with type 2 diabetes in the ONTARGET trial were included in the observational study.

The study results indicate that 31.7 percent of patients developed CKD and 8.3 percent of patients died after 5.5 years of follow-up. Compared with patients in the least healthy scoring group on an index that assessed diet quality, patients in the healthiest group had a lower risk of CKD (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 0.74) and lower risk of mortality (OR, 0.61).

Patients who ate more than three servings of fruits per week had a lower risk of CKD compared with patients who ate fruit less frequently. Patients in the lowest group of total and animal protein intake had an increased risk of CKD compared with patients in the highest group. Sodium intake was not associated with CKD, while moderate alcohol intake reduced the risk of CKD (OR, 0.75) and mortality (OR, 0.69).

The study concluded that a healthy diet and moderate intake of alcohol may decrease the incidence or progression of CKD among individuals with type 2 diabetes. Sodium intake, within a wide range, and normal protein intake are not associated with CKD.

The study has been published online in JAMA Internal Medicine.