"These findings add to the growing body of data that maintaining strong kidney function throughout one's life is critical for cardiovascular health and healthy life expectancy," said Yuni Choi, a postdoctoral researcher at SPH and lead study author.
The researchers evaluated data from 4,382 persons who took part in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) cohort study over a 20-year period, recording test results. Participants in the study ranged in age from 27 to 41, with an average age of 35 when the trial began. Importantly, the researchers tracked the rate at which participants in the trial advanced through CKD risk stages. The following are the study's principal findings:
Over the course of the two-decade trial, around 28% of patients moved to a higher CKD stage.
Higher CKD categories in young adulthood were linked to an increased chance of having a cardiovascular event later in life, such as a heart attack, stroke, heart failure, or death.
"This study supported the fact that young adulthood is a critically essential time for clinical attention to the status of the kidneys," said David Jacobs, a professor at SPH and study co-lead author. "People who began with a higher stage of CKD were far more likely to develop to more advanced CKD stages much faster than their peers who began with no CKD or a milder level of it."
Another intriguing discovery was that the link of CKD stages with cardiovascular disease but not death was partially explained by multiple risk variables, most notably hypertension and diabetes. Whether seen in conjunction with other risk factors or on its own, the findings suggest that excessive excretion of albumin—a blood plasma protein generated in the liver—is an early warning sign for future disease.
"These findings suggest that routine monitoring, including of urinary albumin excretion, beginning in young adulthood holds promise for initiating and reinforcing prevention of kidney disease, cardiovascular disease, and even death," says study co-author Daniel Duprez, a professor at the University of Minnesota Medical School.
The researchers intend to expand on this research to look into risk factors for CKD development. They will also undertake research on racial disparities in CKD disease and related topics.
https://www.yicaremedical.com/poct/renal-function-system/renal-function-meter.html