Why the study?
Chronic kidney disease is a major, largely preventable cause of morbidity and mortality, but whether regular physical activity reduces the risk of CKD remains uncertain.
Does maximum physical activity reduce the risk of chronic kidney disease compared to minimal physical activity in the general population?
Does maximum physical activity reduce the risk of chronic kidney disease compared to minimal physical activity in the general population?
Habitual physical activity is associated with a significantly lower risk of developing chronic kidney disease compared to being least physically active.
May support physical activity for CKD prevention; leaves open need for RCTs to confirm causality.
Background The role of regular physical activity in preventing vascular and non-vascular disease are well established. Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a major cause of global morbidity and mortality and largely preventable, but it is uncertain if regular physical activity can reduce the risk of CKD. Using a systematic review and meta-analysis of published observational cohort studies in the general population, we sought to assess the association between physical activity and CKD risk. Methods Relevant studies with at least one-year of follow-up were sought from inception until 02 May 2022 in MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Science, and manual search of relevant articles. Relative risks (RRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the maximum versus the minimal amount of physical activity groups were pooled using random effects meta-analysis. The quality of the evidence was evaluated using the GRADE tool. Results A total of 12 observational cohort studies comprising 1,281,727 participants and 66,217 CKD events were eligible for the analysis. The pooled multivariable-adjusted RR (95% CI) of CKD comparing the most versus the least physically active groups was 0.91 (0.85–0.97). The association was consistent across several study level subgroups. Exclusion of any single study at a time from the meta-analysis did not change the direction or significance of the association. There was no evidence of small study effects among contributing studies. The GRADE quality of the evidence was low. Conclusion Habitual physical activity may be associated a lowered risk of CKD compared to those who are not or least physically active in the general population. Systematic review registration: CRD42022327640
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Seidu et al. (2022) studied this question.
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