Associations between Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors and Proteinuria and the Estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate (eGFR)

Aim: The aim was to investigate the respective associations between lifestyle and proteinuria and the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). Methods: The lifestyle habits of 25,493 middle-aged participants were investigated in a cross-sectional study to find habits that are associated with a low eGFR (< 60 mL/min/1.73 m(2)) and/or the presence of proteinuria. The lifestyle habits of the participants were evaluated using a questionnaire. Unhealthy lifestyle habits were defined as follows: 1. obesity, 2. being a current/former smoker, 3. eating irregular meals, 4. having less than 5 hours sleep, 5. exercising less than once a week, and 6. drinking more than once a week. The associations among unhealthy habits, eGFR, and proteinuria were evaluated using multivariate analysis. Results: The following lifestyle factors were significantly and independently associated with proteinuria: obesity (odds ratio (OR): 1.18, 95% C.I: 1.04-1.34), being a current/former smoker (OR: 1.26, 95% C.I: 1.11-1.42), eating irregular meals (OR: 1.40, 95% C.I: 1.22-1.61), sleeping less than 5 hours (OR: 1.38, 95% C.I: 1.15-1.65), and exercising less than once a week (OR: 1.18, 95% C.I: 1.05-1.33). In contrast, the following unhealthy lifestyle factors were not clearly associated with a low eGFR: obesity (OR:1.05, 95% C.I: 0.95-1.17), being a current/former smoker (OR: 0.76, 95%C. I: 0.69-0.84), eating irregular meals (OR: 0.91, 95% C.I: 0.79-1.04), sleeping less than 5 hours (OR: 1.02, 95% C.I: 0.85-1.22), and exercising less than once a week (OR: 0.91, 95% C.I: 0.83-0.99). Conclusion: Associations between proteinuria and unhealthy lifestyle habits were observed in our cross-sectional study. Unhealthy lifestyles should be monitored during the management of CKD patients with proteinuria.