Low aerobic fitness risk factor for chronic kidney disease in men

By Helen Albert, Senior medwireNews Reporter

Young men with low levels of aerobic fitness are more likely to have albuminuria or glomerular hyperfiltration, both early signs of chronic kidney disease (CKD), than those with higher levels of fitness.

No association between aerobic fitness levels, as measured by maximum oxygen uptake (VO2Max), was observed in women or in older men (above the median age of 47 years), however.

Based on the hypothesis that a sedentary lifestyle may increase a person's risk for CKD as well as cardiovascular disease and Type 2 diabetes, Hyung-Jin Yoon (Seoul National University College of Medicine, Korea) and colleagues investigated links between early indicators of CKD and aerobic fitness in 34,769 adults without a prior history of diabetes or hypertension.

As reported in Medicine and Science in Sport and Exercise, the team tested VO2Max using a cycle ergometer and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) using the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease Study equation.

Yoon and co-workers found that levels of VO2Max were negatively correlated with glomerular hyperfiltration (eGFR higher than age- and gender-specific 97.5th percentile) in men, but not in women. Further analysis showed that the correlation in men could largely be explained by a significant negative correlation between the two factors in younger (below the median age of 47 years), but not in older men.

Lower VO2Max levels were also associated with a significantly increased risk for albuminuria, as tested using dipstick urinalysis on fasted morning urine (≥1+), in men, but not in women.

"The results provide further insights into the possible role of glomerular hyperfiltration associated with decreased aerobic fitness in the pathophysiology of CKD in the general population," say Yoon et al.

They conclude: "The medical implications of the glomerular hyperfiltration and albuminuria associated with low aerobic fitness need to be confirmed through longitudinal studies."

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