Association of domain-specific physical activity with chronic kidney disease: a cross-sectional study

Abstract Introduction Physical activity (PA) is associated with lower risk of chronic kidney disease (CKD). However, the evidence of relationship between domain-specific PA and CKD has not been adequately elucidated. We aimed to investigate associations of occupation-related (OPA), transportation-related (TPA) and leisure-time PA (LTPA) with CKD in middle-aged and older adults. Methods A total of 19221 participants aged ≥ 45 years from the 2007–2018 U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were analyzed. PA domains were assessed by self-reported questionnaire and categorized based on the PA Guidelines for Americans. CKD defined as estimated glomerular filtration rate < 60 mL/min/1.73m2, or urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio > 30 mg/g. Results Participants achieving PA guidelines (≥ 150 min/week) were 23% (Odd ratio [OR] 0.77, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.72–0.83), 11% (OR 0.89, 95% CI 0.81–0.96) and 28% (OR 0.72, 95% CI 0.65–0.78) less likely to have CKD depending on total PA, OPA and LTPA, respectively; while TPA was not demonstrated lower risks of CKD. The multivariate-adjusted ratios associated with total PA of 1-149, 150–299 and ≥ 300 min/week were 0.81 (95% CI 0.72–0.90), 0.74 (95% CI 0.65–0.84) and 0.71 (95% CI 0.66–0.78) for CKD, respectively. The multivariate-adjusted ratios associated with OPA of ≥ 300 min/week were 0.88 (95% CI 0.80–0.97) for CKD. The multivariate-adjusted ratios associated with LTPA of 1-149, 150–299 and ≥ 300 min/week were 0.80 (95% CI 0.72–0.90), 0.71 (95% CI 0.62–0.80) and 0.68 (95% CI 0.60–0.76) for CKD, respectively. Conclusion LTPA and OPA, but not TPA, was associated with lower risk of CKD in middle-aged and older adults.