Plant-Based Diet and Chronic Kidney Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Dang Z, He Y, Xie R, Chen P, Dong F

Journal of renal nutrition : the official journal of the Council on Renal Nutrition of the National Kidney Foundation · July 1, 2025

We aimed to perform a systematic review and meta-analyses to evaluate the impact of plant-based diet (PBD) on chronic kidney disease (CKD). A systematic search of PubMed and Embase was conducted from inception to August 2023 to evaluate the association between adopting a PBD and the incidence, progression, and mortality of CKD. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated using a random effects model. This meta-analysis was preregistered in the PROSPERO. A total of 121,927 participants were included, aged between 18 and 74 years, and were followed up for a weighted average of 11.2 years. Adopting PBD is associated with a significantly reduced risk of developing CKD OR = 0.75, 95% CI (0.65-0.86), P < .0001] across 93,857 participants. Similar results were observed in subgroup analyses that examined higher quintiles/quartiles (Q2-Q5) and tertiles (T2-T3) of PBD versus Q1/T1, with overall effect measures of 0.92 (95% CI; 0.86-0.98) and 0.88 (95% CI; 0.82-0.93), respectively. When adjusting for CKD-related comorbidities in patients following PBD (adjusted models M1, M2, and M3), significant findings were also observed, with an overall OR of 0.86 (95% CI; 0.79-0.93). Adopting PBD was significantly associated with 26% lower incidences of CKD. Higher intake of PBD showed a dose-dependent relationship with lower risk of CKD incidence and slower CKD progression. Unhealthy PBD may not confer renal protective effects compared to healthy PBD.

PMID: 40081608 · DOI: 10.1053/j.jrn.2025.03.002