Dietary Animal-derived L-Arginine Intakes and Risk of Chronic Kidney Disease: a 6-year Follow-up of Tehran Lipid and Glucose Study.

Introduction: There is inconsistent evidence regarding the potential role of L-arginine intake on kidney function. This study investigated the association of dietary L-arginine intake and the risk of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in adults.
Materials and Methods: We evaluated 1780 men and women participated in the Tehran Lipid and Glucose Study, followed for a median of 6.3 years. Dietary intakes of total L-arginine as well as animal- and plant-derived L-arginine were assessed using the validated semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire, at baseline. Demographics, anthropometrics, and biochemical variables were evaluated at baseline and again after a 3-year and a 6-year follow-up. The incidence of CKD was assessed across tertiles of L-arginine and its categories using multivariable logistic regression models.
Results: The mean dietary intakes of total, plant-derived, and animal-derived L-arginine were 4.1 ± 1.5 g/d, 1.8 ± 0.9 g/d, and 2.1 ± 0.8 g/d, respectively. In the fully-adjusted logistic regression model, the highest compared to the lowest intakes of animal-derived L-arginine (2.57 g/d versus 1.05 g/d) increased the risk of CKD (relative risk, 1.54; 95% confidence interval, 1.06 to 2.14, P = .02 for trend). Animal-derived L-arginine was negatively associated with changes of estimated glomerular filtration rate and creatinine clearance rate during the follow-up. There was no significant association between total or plant-derived L-arginine intakes and the risk of CKD after 6.3 years of follow-up.
Conclusions: Our findings suggested an adverse effect of higher intakes of L-arginine from animal sources that could be a dietary risk factor for development of kidney disease.