Healthy heart-related habits have been shown by the American Heart Association to improve long-term kidney health, as well. | Courtesy of Shutterstock
+ Technology/Innovation
Amanda Rupp | Apr 9, 2016

Healthy heart-related factors may also improve kidney health, study finds

A new study in the Journal of the American Heart Association shows that maintaining good cardiovascular health practices may also help patients avoid chronic kidney disease.

The study involved a total of 14,832 adults between the ages of 45 and 62 years old. The scientists used poor, intermediate and ideal categories to divide the study participants. The scientists then observed the participants for approximately 22 years to watch their health.

The study showed that middle-aged adults who had good scores on the American Heart Association’s Life’s Simply 7 checklist had significantly less likelihood of developing chronic kidney disease over people who had lower scores on the checklist.

“This study was the first to show that for people who are generally healthy, a higher number of ideal Life’s Simple 7 health factors is associated with a reduced risk of new-onset kidney disease,” Casey Rebholz, study author and assistant professor of epidemiology at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, said.

These habits include maintaining a healthy weight, not smoking, controlling blood pressure, exercising and balancing blood sugar levels. All of the above are also connected to a reduced risk of developing chronic kidney disease.

“The shared underlying processes leading to the development of cardiovascular and kidney disease suggest that Life’s Simple 7 might also be effective for kidney disease prevention,” Rebholz said.

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