Regular consumption of fruits, vegetables lowers death risk in CKD patients

· Fruit and vegetable intake frequency decreased with worsening CKD stage.

· Baseline serum potassium levels stratified by CKD stage were comparable across the three fruit and vegetable intake frequency groups.

·561 participants died (47.1/1,000 person-years) during a median follow-up of 5.7 years.

· Adjusted hazard ratios relative to the "everyday" group were 1.25 and 1.60 for the "sometimes" and "never or rarely" groups, respectively, after adjustments for comorbidities, demographic factors, and CKD status.

· A similar, albeit non-significant, dose-dependent relationship was seen between fruit and vegetable intake frequency and all-cause mortality irrespective of CKD status when stratified, with no effect modification by CKD status.

"Participants who sometimes and never/rarely consumed fruits and vegetables had an increased mortality risk compared with participants who consumed vegetables and fruits every day after adjustment for comorbidities, demographic factors, and CKD status," the research team wrote.

"This association was similarly observed irrespective of CKD status, with no effect modification by CKD presence or absence, indicating that everyday consumption of fruits and vegetables may reduce all-cause mortality in CKD as well as non-CKD patients," they conclude.

Reference:

Wakasugi M, Yokoseki A, Wada M, Momotsu T, Sato K, Kawashima H, Nakamura K, Onodera O, Narita I, Vegetable and fruit intake frequency and mortality in patients with and without CKD: A hospital-based cohort study, Journal of Renal Nutrition (2023), doi: https:// doi.org/10.1053/j.jrn.2023.01.011.