Association between body mass index and chronic kidney disease: A population-based, cross-sectional study of a Japanese community

Ikuo Nomura¹, Johji Kato², Kazuo Kitamura¹

¹Department of Internal Medicine, Circulatory and Body Fluid Regulation, Faculty of Medicine; ²Frontier Science Research Center, University of Miyazaki, Kiyotake, Miyazaki, Japan

Abstract: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) has recently been recognized as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, while the mechanism by which CKD develops remained to be clarified. In the present study, we conducted a cross-sectional, community-based study to identify the factor(s) associated with CKD. We examined 1978 local residents of the Kiyotake area of Japan (697 males and 1281 females; age, 60.8 ± 11.0 years; mean ± SD), who had an annual health check-up. Diagnosis of CKD was made based on dipstick proteinuria of +1 or higher, or on a reduced glomerular filtration rate (GFR) estimated from serum creatinine level to less than 60 ml/min/1.73 m². Body mass index (BMI) and prevalence of obesity in the residents with CKD were found to be higher than in those without CKD in both genders. When compared with the residents without CKD, the ratios of residents taking antihypertensive medicines were higher in both genders, and the blood pressure and fasting blood glucose levels of males and the triglyceride level of females were elevated in those with CKD. These parameters or factors were found to be significant for CKD by a univariate logistic analysis. We further analyzed the data with a multivariate logistic method using age, BMI, antihypertensive and antidyslipidemic medicines, blood pressure, serum lipid and glucose as independent covariates, and found that BMI was a significant parameter independently correlated with CKD in both genders. Thus, increased BMI is associated with CKD independently of blood pressure, serum lipid and glucose levels in the general population.

Keywords: chronic kidney disease, body mass index, general population