High Meat Consumption Linked to 73 Percent Increase in Chronic Kidney Disease

Individuals that consume a large amount of processed and “red” meat may significantly increase their risk of contracting chronic kidney disease (CKD), according to the Tehran Lipid and Glucose Study recently published in the Journal of Renal Nutrition. Researchers at Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences in Tehran, Iran divided 4,881 healthy participants into groups based on meat consumption to determine how their diet affects kidney function. Participants in the highest quartile of processed meat consumption increased their odds of developing CKD by 99 percent, while those in the highest total meat (red and processed) consumption quartile increased their CKD risk by 73 percent. Researchers found that each serving of red meat increased CKD risk by 15 percent while one serving of processed meat increased CKD risk by 28 percent. “Higher consumption of total red meat and processed meat was associated with increased risk of incident CKD. Furthermore, substitution of total red and processed meat in the diet with other sources of dietary protein (such as nuts and legumes) was associated with lower CKD risk,” the researchers concluded. This study builds on previous research that links meat consumption with higher incidence of CKD, including a study conducted in 2016 on 63,257 Chinese individuals that concluded that participants who consumed the most red meat, particularly pork, increased their CKD risk by 40 percent.