Relationship between the exposure to cumulative cardiovascular health behaviors and factors and chronic kidney disease—The Kailuan study

It is unclear whether ideal cardiovascular health (CVH) behaviors and factors, particularly cumulative exposure to ideal CVH (cumCVH), is associated with chronic kidney disease (CKD). The aim of the study was to examine the effect of cumCVH on CKD using the data from the Kailuan study. The study included the 27,970 (21,199 males) of the Kailuan community (China). The participants were 19 to 98 years of age. They were followed in 2008–2009, 2010–2011, and 2012–2013 by the same medical staff that did the initial physical examinations in 2006–2007. Participants were censored on the visit reporting CKD. A CVH score was created based on the seven AHA health metrics. The cumCVH score was CVH(1)×time(v1-v2)+CVH(2)×time(v2-v3)+CVH(3)×time(v3-v4). In the fully adjusted model, compared with the lowest quintile of cumCVH, individuals in the highest quintile had a 75% lower risk of CKD (95% confidence interval (CI): 66–82%). Every additional year lived with a 1-unit increase in ideal CVH was associated with an 11% (95% CI: 9–13%) reduction in the incidence of CKD. Furthermore, when we excluded each of the six metrics from the cumCVH score in turn, the association was unaffected after the exclusion of individual risk factors. Ideal CVH is associated with a reduced incidence of CKD. Measurements of cumCVH are more likely to reflect the lifetime risk of CKD and possibly of other health outcomes.