Could Weight Loss Improve Kidney Function?

Weight loss following a restricted-calorie diet combined with an exercise plan greatly improved the kidney function of morbidly obese patients in a recent study.

Presented at the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists annual meeting, held May 25-29 in Orlando, Florida, the retrospective study included adult patients who voluntarily enrolled in a physician-directed, medically supervised, community-based weight-management program from 2009 to 2014. The 71 patients participating in the study—with an average age of 62.58 years—consumed at least 800 kilocalories per day as well as attended weekly behavioral education classes, and expended roughly 300 kilocalories per day in physical activity, according to the authors. The program excluded women, substance abusers, patients with documented eating disorders or atypical eating behaviors, patients with active malignancies, patients with end-stage renal disease, and patients with other infections.
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After 12 weeks of therapy, 80% of patients demonstrated an improvement in kidney disease stage, the researchers noted. Approximately 19% of participants experienced no change in kidney disease stage, while just 1 patient saw his kidney disease progress in that time. In addition, about 64% of participants required fewer antihypertensive medications, and 83% of patients reduced their diabetic medications. Study participants also saw noteworthy reductions in HbA_1c, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol.

These results show that “multidisciplinary interventions that include behavioral education classes, a low-calorie diet, and exercise are effective ways to prevent chronic co-morbid disease progression,” said Tiffany Schwasinger-Schmidt, MD, PhD, an internal medicine resident at the University of Kansas-Wichita and lead author of the study.

Interventions that focus on a multidisciplinary approach “have been successful” in helping morbidly obese patients prevent disease progression and promoting overall patient health and well-being,” said Schwasinger-Schmidt, adding that “primary care providers play a key role in the treatment of patients with obesity, and can have a significant impact on the prevention of comorbid disease progression.”

Pointing to the significant weight loss and improved overall health among many of the study’s patients after 12 weeks of intensive therapy, Schwasinger-Schmidt noted that this research “illustrates the importance of weight-loss interventions and the pivotal role that primary care physicians play in prevention of disease progression.”

—Mark McGraw

Reference: 

Schwasinger-Schmidt T, Elhomsy G, Dong F, Paull-Forney B. A retrospective analysis of the impact of weight loss on renal function [abstract 701]. Endocr Pract. 2016;22(suppl 2):145-146. http://am.aace.com/sites/all/files/AbstractBook-2016_ALL.pdf. Accessed June 3, 2016.