Oxidative Balance Score and the Risk of End-Stage Renal Disease and Cardiovascular Disease

Abstract

Background: Oxidative balance score (OBS) is a composite measure of oxidative stress-related exposures. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between OBS, end-stage renal disease (ESRD), and cardiovascular disease (CVD). Methods: Using data from the Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort, we calculated the main exposure OBS by summing up 12 apriori-defined pro- and antioxidant factors obtained from the diet history questionnaire and lifestyle assessment. We divided OBS into quartiles (Q1-Q4), with Q1 (predominance of pro-oxidants) as the reference. We analyzed OBS quartiles as an ordinal variable. Crude and adjusted hazards ratios (HRs) and 95% CIs were estimated using Cox proportional hazards models for time to ESRD and CVD. Results: Compared to Q1, Q4 (high antioxidant) was associated with ESRD in the crude model (HR 1.35, 95% CI 1.08-1.69) and adjusting for age, sex, and race (HR 1.36, 95% CI 1.09-1.71) but not in the fully adjusted model (HR 1.12, 95% CI 0.84-1.51). HR of ESRD increased as the OBS quartiles increased in the crude model (ptrend < 0.05) but not in the fully adjusted model (ptrend = 0.30). Compared to Q1, Q4 was associated with CVD in the crude (HR 1.33, 95% CI 1.06-1.68) but not adjusted models. The HR of CVD increased with an increase in OBS quartiles in the crude model (ptrend < 0.05). Conclusion: The reverse association between OBS and progression to ESRD suggests that perhaps the effect of oxidative balance-related exposure is different in the setting of established chronic kidney disease.