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The distribution of eGFR by age in a community-based healthy population: the Japan specific health checkups study (J-SHC study)

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Abstract

Background

Renal function gradually declines with age. However, the association between changes in renal function and healthy aging has not been determined. This study examined the distribution of estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) values in healthy subjects by age using large-scale cross-sectional data of health check-up participants in Japan.

Methods

Among the 394,180 health check-up participants, 75,217 (19.1%) subjects without hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, obesity, proteinuria, smoking, past history of cardiovascular diseases, and renal failure/not undergoing dialysis were included in the healthy group. The distribution of eGFR values was determined at each age between 39 and 74 years. Results: in healthy subjects, the mean (± 2 SD range) values of eGFR (mL/min/1.73 m2) at ages 40, 50, 60, and 70 were 88.0 (55.4–121.7), 82.3 (51.2–113.3), 77.8 (48.1–107.6), and 72.9 (44.7–101.1), respectively. The difference in the mean eGFR by age was almost constant across all ages. In the linear regression analysis adjusted for sex, the regression coefficient of mean eGFR for a one-year increase in age was -0.46 mL/min/1.73 m2 in healthy subjects (P < 0.001). By sex, the distribution of eGFR and the 1-year change in eGFR showed similar results in both men and women.

Conclusions

Renal function slowly declined with age in a healthy population; however, it was relatively preserved until the mid 70 s. This result suggests that a decline in renal function often observed in the elderly does not attribute to aging alone, and further examination might be required to clarify the cause of renal impairment.

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Funding

The Japan Specific Health Checkups study (J-SHC study) was supported by a Health and Labor Sciences Research Grant for "Design of the comprehensive health care system for chronic kidney disease (CKD) based on the individual risk assessment by Specific Health Checkup" from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare of Japan and a Grant-in-Aid for "Research on Advanced Chronic Kidney Disease (REACH-J), Practical Research Project for Renal Disease" from the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Cardiology, Pulmonology, and Nephrology, Yamagata University, Yamagata, Japan

    Akira Araumi & Kazunobu Ichikawa

  2. Department of Public Health and Hygiene, Yamagata University Graduate School of Medical Science, 2-2-2, Iida-Nishi, Yamagata, 990-9585, Japan

    Tsuneo Konta

  3. The Japan Specific Health Checkups Study (J-SHC Study) Group, Fukushima, Japan

    Tsuneo Konta, Shouichi Fujimoto, Kunitoshi Iseki, Toshiki Moriyama, Kunihiro Yamagata, Kazuhiko Tsuruya, Ichiei Narita, Masahide Kondo, Masato Kasahara, Yugo Shibagaki, Koichi Asahi & Tsuyoshi Watanabe

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  1. Akira Araumi
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  2. Kazunobu Ichikawa
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  3. Tsuneo Konta
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  4. Shouichi Fujimoto
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  5. Kunitoshi Iseki
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  8. Kazuhiko Tsuruya
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  10. Masahide Kondo
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  11. Masato Kasahara
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  12. Yugo Shibagaki
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  13. Koichi Asahi
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  14. Tsuyoshi Watanabe
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Tsuneo Konta.

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All the authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Ethical approval

All the procedures performed in this study followed the ethical standards of the institutional research committee at which the studies were conducted (IRB approval number: Yamagata University, No. 2008–103) and complied with the 1964 Helsinki declaration.

Informed consent

The ethics committees of Yamagata University waived the need for informed consent from each participant because all the data were anonymized before the analysis.

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Araumi, A., Ichikawa, K., Konta, T. et al. The distribution of eGFR by age in a community-based healthy population: the Japan specific health checkups study (J-SHC study). Clin Exp Nephrol 25, 1303–1310 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10157-021-02107-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10157-021-02107-7

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