There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.
Abstract
This study aimed to comprehensively assess epidemiologic evidence on the relation
between obesity and kidney disease (KD). From 247 retrieved articles via PubMed (1980-2006),
25 cohorts, 3 cross-sectional, and 19 case-control studies met inclusion criteria.
Related data were extracted using a standardized protocol. We estimated the pooled
relative risk (RR) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI) of KD for each body mass index
(BMI) category compared with normal weight using meta-analysis models. Population
attributable risk was also calculated. Compared with normal-weight individuals (18.5<BMI<25),
overweight individuals (25< or =BMI<30) had elevated risk for KD (RR=1.40; 95% CI
1.30-1.50); obese individuals were at much higher risk (RR=1.83 (1.57-2.13)). Obesity
in women was associated with a higher risk than in men (RR=1.92 (1.78-2.07) vs 1.49
(1.36-1.63); P<0.001). Results from cohort studies in patient populations and cross-sectional
and case-control studies all indicated a positive association between BMI and risks
for KD outcomes. We estimated that 24.2% and 33.9% of KD cases among US men and women,
respectively, and in industrialized countries, 13.8% in men and 24.9% in women, could
be related to overweight and obesity. Obesity increases the risk for KD in the general
population, and the association appears to be stronger in women than in men. Obesity
adversely affects the progress of KD among patients with kidney-related diseases.