section name header

Evidence summaries

Protein Restriction for Diabetic Kidney Disease

There is insufficient evidence on the effect of protein restriction for diabetic kidney disease. Level of evidence: "D"

The quality of the evidence is downgraded by study limitations (high or unclear risks of bias), by imprecise results (small studies and wide confidence intervals), and by inconsistency (unexplained heterogeneity).

Summary

A Cochrane review [Abstract] 1 included 8 studies with a total of 486 subjects comparing low protein diet (LPD: 0.6 to 0.8 g/kg/day) wih unrestricted protein diet (UPD: 1.0 g/kg/day). Most studies were not designed to examine death or kidney failure. A low protein diet did not have effect on death (RR 0.38, 95% CI 0.10 to 1.44; 5 trials, n=358), kidney failure (RR 1.16, 95% CI 0.38 to 3.59; 4 trials, n=287), or decline of glomerular filtration rate over time (MD -0.73 mL/min, 95% CI -2.3 to 0.83; 7 trials, n=367). There was no evidence of malnutrition. Participant compliance with a LPD was unsatisfactory in nearly half of the studies.

Clinical comments

Note

Date of latest search: 2023-02-21

References

  • Jiang S, Fang J, Li W. Protein restriction for diabetic kidney disease. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2023;1(1):CD014906. [PubMed]

Primary/Secondary Keywords