Ultra-Processed Foods Linked to Renal Failure

Written by Chrystal Moulton, Staff Writer. Ultra-processed food consumption is associated with a 50% risk of renal failure in older adults.

In a prospective cohort study ¹, researchers assessed whether there was a correlation between kidney failure and ultra-processed foods. Baseline data was gathered from 2008 to 2010 and followed non-institutionalized elderly adults aged 60 years and older living in Spain. Participants were followed until December 2015. At baseline, demographic information and dietary history was collected for each participant. Fasting blood and urine samples were collected at baseline and at the end of the follow up period. Foods consumed during the follow up period were classified into 4 groups: low or minimally processed foods (fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts/seeds, etc.), processed culinary ingredients (butter, lard, honey, vegetable oils, etc.), processed foods (canned/bottled vegetables or fish, unpackaged cheese, baked bread, salty/sugary nuts and seeds), and ultra-processed foods (cookies, pizza, instant soup, processed meat, soft drinks, etc.). At the beginning of the study 2,519 participants were recruited and 1,312 participants were eligible for assessment at the end of the follow-up period (December 2015).

Researchers divided the participants into 3 categories based on consumption of ultra-processed foods [UPF] (Table 1).

Table 1. Categories of Ultra-processed food (UPF) consumption

183 cases of renal failure were found by the end of follow-up. Participants in the T3 and T2 were 74% and 56%  more likely to develop renal failure compared to participants in the lowest tertile of UPF consumption after adjusting for all demographic and chronic disease data collected, respectively [see study for details] (Odds ratio model 3: T2= 1.56  T3= 1.74, p=0.026).

Through this study, researchers suggested UPF consumption may be linked to renal failure. Renal failure is linked to high consumption of sugar, phosphates, and sodium as well as a low consumption of fiber ². This pattern of diet is consistent with high consumption of UPF’s.  UPF’s are abundant in inorganic phosphate which are very bioavailable ^3,4 and high consumption can lead to chronic kidney disease ⁵.  Despite the limitations present in the study, researchers acknowledged that removal of UPF’s from the diet is a first step in preventing the risk of renal failure in the elderly population.

Source: Rey-García, Jimena, Carolina Donat-Vargas, Helena Sandoval-Insausti, Ana Bayan-Bravo, Belén Moreno-Franco, José Ramón Banegas, Fernando Rodríguez-Artalejo, and Pilar Guallar-Castillón. “Ultra-Processed Food Consumption is Associated with Renal Function Decline in Older Adults: A Prospective Cohort Study.” Nutrients 13, no. 2 (2021): 428.

© 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/).

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Posted May 4, 2021.

Chrystal Moulton BA, PMP, is a 2008 graduate of the University of Illinois at Chicago. She graduated with a bachelor’s in psychology with a focus on premedical studies and is a licensed project manager. She currently resides in Indianapolis, IN.

References:

1. Rey-García J, Donat-Vargas C, Sandoval-Insausti H, et al. Ultra-Processed Food Consumption is Associated with Renal Function Decline in Older Adults: A Prospective Cohort Study. Nutrients. 2021;13(2).
2. Machado PP, Steele EM, Levy RB, et al. Ultra-processed foods and recommended intake levels of nutrients linked to non-communicable diseases in Australia: evidence from a nationally representative cross-sectional study. BMJ Open. 2019;9(8):e029544.
3. Kalantar-Zadeh K, Gutekunst L, Mehrotra R, et al. Understanding sources of dietary phosphorus in the treatment of patients with chronic kidney disease. Clinical journal of the American Society of Nephrology : CJASN. 2010;5(3):519-530.
4. Younes M, Aquilina G, Castle L, et al. Re-evaluation of phosphoric acid-phosphates – di-, tri- and polyphosphates (E 338-341, E 343, E 450-452) as food additives and the safety of proposed extension of use. Efsa j. 2019;17(6):e05674.
5. Rubio-Aliaga I. Phosphate and Kidney Healthy Aging. Kidney & blood pressure research. 2020;45(6):802-811.