Dietary approaches to stop hypertension, mediterranean dietary pattern, and diabetic nephropathy in women with type 2 diabetes: A case-control study.

Background And Aims: The association between dietary habits and kidney function in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) has been poorly investigated. We aimed to test the relationship between adherences to the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet and the Mediterranean dietary pattern (Med diet) and likelihood of diabetic nephropathy (DN) in women with T2D.

Methods: In a case-control study, 105 women with T2D and DN (albumin-creatinine ratio ≥ 30 mg/g, mean age: 55.3 ± 7.0 years; diabetes duration: 7.6 ± 2.2 years), and 105 controls with T2D and without DN (mean age: 55.4 ± 7.1 years; diabetes duration: 7.6 ± 2.1 years) who attended at Kowsar diabetes clinic in Semnan, Iran were matched for age and diabetes duration. Dietary intakes were assessed using a validated 147-item semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire. The DASH and Med diet scores were calculated using the methods developed by Fung and Trichopoulou, respectively. A generalized estimating equation model was used to examine the relationship between dietary scores and odds of DN across tertiles of dietary patterns scores.

Results: Type 2 diabetic women with moderate and high Med diet scores had 62% and 86% lower odds of DN in comparison with low adherent (ORs: 0.38, 95%CI: 0.20, 0.73; and 0.14, 95%CI: 0.06, 0.33; respectively). A moderate adherence to the DASH diet was not associated with risk of DN, but a significant inverse relationship was found in those with high adherence (OR: 0.71, 95%CI: 0.57, 0.90).

Conclusions: Adherence to the DASH and Med diets was inversely and dose-dependently associated with risk of DN. Further observational studies are needed to confirm the present results.