Researchers from The George Institute and UNSW Sydney have found that certain fatty acids in seafood could help to lower the risk of developing chronic kidney disease.
This comes as good news as CKD affects about. 700 million people worldwide and those with CKD are at risk of other health issues including cardiovascular disease.
“Because rates of CKD are increasing and there is currently no cure, it’s more important than ever to find ways to slow the progression of this devastating disease,” Professor Jason Wu, Head of Nutrition Science at The George Institute and Professor at UNSW Medicine & Health’s School of Population Health said.
Published in The BMJ, the study involved more than 25,000 participants across 12 countries and found that those with the highest level of a blood marker of seafood-derived polyunsaturated fatty acids had a slower decline in kidney function.
According to Professor Wu, while long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids or n-3 PUFAs, are known to be good for heart health, it seems they could be good for our kidneys too.
Participants included in the analysis were divided into five levels according to total seafood n-3 PUFA consumption, determined by measuring n-3 PUFA circulating in the blood.
The results showed that those in the top fifth of n-3 PUFA levels had a 13% lower risk of developing abnormal kidney function consistent with CKD compared with those in the lowest fifth.
However, the researchers found that plant-derived n-3 PUFA levels did not show the same benefits.
“Although the degree of association between higher seafood-derived n-3 PUFA was modest, our findings suggest it is enough to encourage adequate consumption of seafood and oily fish, especially in those at risk of kidney disease,” Lead author Dr Kwok Leung Ong, a senior research fellow at UNSW, Sydney said.
“But these findings also provide a good reason to conduct further randomised controlled trials to assess the potential beneficial role of seafood n-3 PUFA in the prevention and management of CKD.”
