Exercise therapy correlates with improving renal function through modifying lipid metabolism in patients with cardiovascular disease and chronic kidney disease

Abstract

Background: Patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD) and chronic kidney disease (CKD) are at high risk of cardiovascular mortality, thus therapies to improve renal function should be clinically investigated.

Methods and results: We divided consecutive patients with CVD and CKD (n=19) into exercise (n=10) and non-exercise (n=9) therapy groups. Exercise therapy for 12 weeks significantly improved the anaerobic metabolic threshold (AT-V O₂) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels, and reduced triglyceride levels. Exercise therapy also improved estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). Change in eGFR correlated significantly and positively with change in AT-V O₂ and HDL-C, and negatively with change in triglyceride levels.

Conclusions: Exercise therapy correlates with improving renal function in CVD patients with CKD through modifying lipid metabolism. Exercise therapy could be an effective clinical strategy to improve renal function.