Assessing physical inactivity as a risk factor for chronic kidney diseases in Iranian population

OBJECTIVES: Physical inactivity is a major adjustable lifestyle risk factor in renal patients; nevertheless, research on the association of physical activity (PA) with chronic kidney disease (CKD) is unclear. DESIGN: Cross-sectional. SETTING: We evaluated the secondary care related to the nephrology specialists. PARTICIPANTS: We evaluated PA in 3374 Iranian patients with CKD aged ≥18 years. Exclusion criteria were current or prior kidney transplantation, dementia, institutionalisation, expected to start renal replacement therapy or leave the area within study duration, participation in a clinical trial or inability to undergo the informed consent process. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME: The renal function parameters were measured and compared with PA, assessed by the Baecke questionnaire. Estimated glomerular filtration rate, haematuria and/or albuminuria were used to estimate decreased kidney function and the incidence of CKD. To estimate the relationship between PA and CKD, we used the multinomial adjusted regression models. RESULTS: In the first model, findings indicate that the patients with the lowest PA score had significantly higher odds of CKD (OR 1.44, 95% CI 1.16 to 1.78; p=0.01), adjustment for age and sex attenuated this relationship (OR 1.25, 95% CI 1.56 to 1.78, p=0.04). Furthermore, adjusting for low-density lipoprotein, high-density lipoprotein, triglyceride, fasting blood glucose, body mass index, waist circumference, waist/hip ratio, coexisting diseases and smoking made this relationship insignificant (OR 1.23, 95% CI 0.97 to 1.55; p=0.076). After adjusting for potential confounders, we found that patients with lower PA have higher odds of CKD stage 2 (OR 1.62, 95% CI 1.13 to 2.32; p=0.008), no association with other CKD stages. CONCLUSION: These data suggest that physical inactivity contributes to the risk of early CKD, so encouraging patients with CKD to maintain higher PA levels could be used as a simple and useful tool to decrease the risk of disease progression and its related burden.