Lacto-ovo vegetarian diet mitigated the risk of chronic kidney disease in overweight individuals

Abstract

Abstract Introduction Being overweight, with a body mass index > 25, is associated with multiple comorbidities, including chronic kidney disease (CKD). A plant-based diet, such as a vegetarian or lacto-ovo vegetarian diet, serves as a preventive strategy for CKD in patients. The aim of this study was to investigate whether a vegetarian diet lowers the occurrence of CKD in overweight subjects. Materials and Methods The retrospective study was performed in Taipei Tzu Chi Hospital. The incidence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) was evaluated according to the self-reported eating habits (vegetarians, lacto-ovo vegetarians, or omnivores), overweight(with a BMI ≥ 25 or higher abdominal circumference (> 90 cm in male or > 80 cm in female )) or not, or other biochemical or hematologic parameters. The interaction between different factors for the development of CKD were analyzed by Structural equation modeling. Results Among these 6,567 subjects, the subjects with lacto-ovo vegetarians (n = 1933) had lower incidence of CKD than dietary habits as vegans (n = 357) and omnivores (n = 4277) [26.2% vs. 32.8% (vegans) and 30.7% (omnivore group), p < 0.001]. The incidence of overweight was the highest in omnivore group. The lacto-ovo vegetarian group [OR:0.79, 95% confidence interval [CI):0.70–0.90) lower the risk of CKD occurrence than the omnivore group. After adjusting for age and sex in SEM model, the lacto-ovo diet lowered the risk for CKD from being with a high BMI (OR:0.82, p < 0.001) or a higher triglyceride(TG)/high-density lipoprotein(HDL) ratio (OR:0.76, p < 0.001; OR:0.55, p < 0.001). Conclusion Lacto-ovo vegetarian dietary habits are associated with a lower occurrence of CKD in obese patients. The mitigating effect of the lacto-ovo vegetarian diet was due to the hazard of a higher BMI and TG/HDL ratio.