Dietary fiber intake and its association with diabetic kidney disease in American adults with diabetes: A cross-sectional study.

Background: Dietary fiber (DF) intake may have a protective effect against type 2 diabetes (T2D); however, its relationship with diabetic kidney disease (DKD) remains unclear.

Aim: To investigate the potential association between DF intake and the prevalence of DKD in individuals diagnosed with T2D.

Methods: This cross-sectional study used data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey collected between 2005 and 2018. DF intake was assessed through 24-h dietary recall interviews, and DKD diagnosis in individuals with T2D was based on predefined criteria, including albuminuria, impaired glomerular filtration rate, or a combination of both. Logistic regression analysis was used to assess the association between DF intake and DKD, and comprehensive subgroup and sensitivity analyses were performed.

Results: Among the 6032 participants, 38.4% had DKD. With lower DF intake-T1 (≤ 6.4 g/1000 kcal/day)-as a reference, the adjusted odds ratio for DF and DKD for levels T2 (6.5-10.0 g/1000 kcal/day) and T3 (≥ 10.1 g/1000 kcal/day) were 0.97 (95%CI: 0.84-1.12, = 0.674) and 0.79 (95%CI: 0.68-0.92, = 0.002), respectively. The subgroup analysis yielded consistent results across various demographic and health-related subgroups, with no statistically significant interactions (all > 0.05).

Conclusion: In United States adults with T2D, increased DF intake may be related to reduced DKD incidence. Further research is required to confirm these findings.