Kidney patients should hit the gym

People with kidney disease may become healthier and live longer if they pump iron. A new study suggests that increasing one’s lean body mass -- that means muscles -- is important.

Recent research revealed the puzzling discovery that kidney dialysis patients live longer if they have a high body mass index. But it has been unclear what accounts for this link and which was more important: a high proportion of lean mass or fat mass. Researchers at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center examined that question in a study of 792 dialysis patients. They measured the patients’ lean mass and fat mass over a five-year period and found that those people with higher lean body mass (as measured by mid-arm muscle circumference) scored better on a mental health test and lived longer than those with lower lean-mass measurements.

There are a number of possible reasons why higher muscle mass is good for dialysis patients. It could be that exercise, which strengthens muscle, also decreases the stiffness of arteries in these patients or improves their insulin resistance. More studies are needed to better understand how much lean mass and fat mass matter to these patients. But it’s appears that having a high body mass index with sufficient muscle mass may be a recipe to better health for dialysis patients.

The study is scheduled to appear in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

-- Shari Roan / Los Angeles Times

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