Higher protein intake tied to lower mortality in chronic kidney disease

Higher intake of total, animal, and plant protein is associated with lower mortality in older adults with chronic kidney disease (CKD), according to a study published in JAMA Network Open.

Adrián Carballo-Casla, Ph.D., from Karolinska Institutet and Stockholm University, and colleagues examined associations of total, animal, and plant protein intake with all-cause mortality in older adults with mild or moderate CKD. The analysis included 8,543 community-dwelling adults ≥ 60 years.

The researchers found that higher total protein intake was associated with lower mortality among participants with CKD (adjusted hazard ratio for 1.00 versus 0.80 g/kg/day: 0.88; for 1.20 versus 0.80 g/kg/day: 0.79; for 1.40 versus 0.80 g/kg/day, 0.73). For plant and animal protein, associations with mortality were similar (adjusted hazard ratios, 0.80 and 0.88 per 0.20-g/kg/day increment, respectively). Associations were also similar for total protein intake regardless of age. Risk was even lower among participants without CKD versus those with CKD (adjusted hazard ratios, 0.85 and 0.92 per 0.20-g/kg/day increment, respectively).

"These findings suggest that the benefits of proteins may outweigh the downsides in older adults with mild or moderate CKD, in whom disease progression may play a more limited role in survival," the authors write.

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