Habitual Fish Oil Use Reduces Risk of Kidney Stones in Individuals with Genetic Risk, reveals study

Kidney stones or renal stones are common, expensive, and painful diseases affecting several people worldwide. The presence of renal stones significantly increases the risk of metabolic, cardiovascular, and inflammatory diseases. Evidence shows that inflammation and hyperlipidemia play a vital role in the pathogenesis of renal stones. Hence, anti-inflammatory and lipid-lowering treatments or supplements are necessary to prevent the development of renal stones. Previous research shows that fish oil supplementation has potential health benefits as it can reduce blood pressure and triglycerides levels as well as pose anti-inflammatory effects. Hence, researchers from Nanfang Hospital conducted a study to assess the association between habitual fish oil use and new-onset kidney stones in participants with different levels of genetic risks of kidney stones.

A prospective cohort study was carried out by recruiting approximately 500,000 participants aged 37–73 years from the UK biobank. Individuals with kidney stones at baseline as determined by self-report or hospitalization records and used fish oil and having information on the kidney stone's genetic risk score were included in the study. Fish oil usage was determined through a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) and a series of 24-hour dietary recalls. Based on the fish oil usage individuals were categorized into constant nonusers, occasional users, modest users, and moderate-high users. Participants were categorized into three groups low risk, moderate risk, and high risk based on the genetic risk categories. The main outcome was the new-onset kidney stones.

Findings:

• During a median follow-up of 12.0 years, 5,637 cases of kidney stones were documented.
• The study found that high genetic risks of kidney stones had a higher prevalence of developing new-onset kidney stones.
• The habitual use of fish oil was associated with a lower risk of new-onset kidney stones when compared with those who did not use it in participants with low or intermediate genetic risks.
• However, the same was not reflected in those with high genetic risks of kidney stones.
• Individuals with low to intermediate risks have a lower risk of kidney stones with frequent fish oil use while modestly constant users have the most significant reduction in the risk.

Thus, the study concluded that habitual fish oil use was associated with a lower risk of new-onset kidney stones in participants with low or intermediate genetic risk of kidney stones. This study reinforces the importance of fish oil intake against the development of gene-less-determined kidney stones.

Further reading: Gan X, Liu M, He P, et al. Habitual fish oil supplementation, genetic susceptibility of kidney stones and the risk of new-onset kidney stones. J Clin Lipidol. 2024;18(1):e116-e124. doi:10.1016/j.jacl.2023.11.013