Dietary patterns associated with renal impairment in the Northern Ireland Cohort for the Longitudinal Study of Ageing (NICOLA)

BACKGROUND: Dietary-based primary prevention guidelines for chronic kidney disease (CKD) treatment are lacking due to limited evidence. Single nutrient intake studies do not account for complex dietary interactions. We assessed associations between dietary patterns and renal function in the Northern Ireland Cohort for the Longitudinal Study of Ageing (NICOLA). DESIGN: A cross-sectional observational study used NICOLA baseline dietary data collected between February 2014 and March 2016 via a food frequency questionnaire for 2590 participants aged ≥ 50 years. Principal component analysis identified a posteriori dietary patterns. Renal function was characterised by estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) using serum creatinine and cystatin-C. Associations were assessed according to quintiles of dietary pattern adherence and multivariable regression analysis examined associations with eGFR. RESULTS: Variation in three dietary patterns was significantly associated with eGFR. After adjustment for potential confounders, participants with least adherence to the ‘healthy’ dietary pattern 1 had a mean eGFR 3.4 ml/min/1.73m(2) (95% confidence interval, [CI] − 5.0, − 1.7, p < 0.001) lower than the most adherent. Those with lowest adherence to the ‘unhealthy’ dietary pattern 2 had a mean eGFR 1.9 ml/min/1.73m(2) (CI 0.2, 3.5, p = 0.03) higher than those with highest adherence. Participants with lowest adherence to dietary pattern 3, characterised by a high consumption of alcohol and coffee, had a mean eGFR 1.8 ml/min/1.73m(2) (− 3.5, − 0.01, p = 0.05) lower than those with greatest adherence. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings identify independent associations between dietary patterns and eGFR. These findings can inform the development of diet-related primary prevention advice for CKD. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00394-021-02579-z.