Trial reportClinical journal of the American Society of Nephrology : CJASN2012
Comparative effects of low-carbohydrate high-protein versus low-fat diets on the kidney.
Trial report in Clinical journal of the American Society of Nephrology : CJASN, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 59 papers, 11 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
59 citing papers in PubMed, 11 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 118 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effects of High-Protein Diets on Renal Function and Body Composition in Adults Without Chronic Kidney Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomised Trials.Diabetes, obesity & metabolism · 2026Pooled it
- Effect of dietary interventions on kidney function in adults with obesity without chronic kidney disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Pooled it
- A Systematic Review on Participant Diversity in Clinical Trials-Have We Made Progress for the Management of Obesity and Its Metabolic Sequelae in Diet, Drug, and Surgical Trials.Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities · 2023Pooled it
- Effect of Carbohydrate-Restricted Diets and Intermittent Fasting on Obesity, Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, and Hypertension Management: Consensus Statement of the Korean Society for the Study of Obesity, Korean Diabetes Association, and Korean Society of Hypertension.Diabetes & metabolism journal · 2022Pooled it
- The Relationship between Modern Fad Diets and Kidney Stone Disease: A Systematic Review of Literature.Nutrients · 2021Pooled it
- Effects of total fat intake on body fatness in adults.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2020Pooled it
- Changes in Kidney Function Do Not Differ between Healthy Adults Consuming Higher- Compared with Lower- or Normal-Protein Diets: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.The Journal of nutrition · 2018Pooled it
- Effects of total fat intake on body weight.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2015Pooled it
- Efficacy of commercial weight-loss programs: an updated systematic review.Annals of internal medicine · 2015Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Long-term effects of low-fat diets either low or high in protein on cardiovascular and metabolic risk factors: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Nutrition journal · 2013Pooled it
- Safety and efficacy of very low carbohydrate diet in patients with diabetic kidney disease-A randomized controlled trial.PloS one · 2021Trial
- Eight Days of Water-Only Fasting Promotes Favorable Changes in the Functioning of the Urogenital System of Middle-Aged Healthy Men.Nutrients · 2020Trial
- Trial
- Effect of increased protein intake on renal acid load and renal hemodynamic responses.Physiological reports · 2016Trial
- Trial
- Short-term changes after a weight reduction intervention in advanced diabetic nephropathy.Clinical journal of the American Society of Nephrology : CJASN · 2013Trial
- Renal function following three distinct weight loss dietary strategies during 2 years of a randomized controlled trial.Diabetes care · 2013Trial
- Effect of a high-protein diet on kidney function in healthy adults: results from the OmniHeart trial.American journal of kidney diseases : the official journal of the National Kidney Foundation · 2013Trial
- Markers of Renal Function in Older Adults Completing a Higher Protein Obesity Intervention and One Year Later: Findings from the MEASUR-UP Trial.Journal of nutrition in gerontology and geriatricsTrial
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
11 authors at 5 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND
objectivesConcerns exist about deleterious renal effects of low-carbohydrate high-protein weight loss diets. This issue was addressed in a secondary analysis of a parallel randomized, controlled long-term trial. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, AND MEASUREMENTS: Between 2003 and 2007, 307 obese adults without serious medical illnesses at three United States academic centers were randomly assigned to a low-carbohydrate high-protein or a low-fat weight-loss diet for 24 months. Main outcomes included renal filtration (GFR) indices (serum creatinine, cystatin C, creatinine clearance); 24-hour urinary volume; albumin; calcium excretion; and serum solutes at 3, 12, and 24 months.
resultsCompared with the low-fat diet, low-carbohydrate high-protein consumption was associated with minor reductions in serum creatinine (relative difference, -4.2%) and cystatin C (-8.4%) at 3 months and relative increases in creatinine clearance at 3 (15.8 ml/min) and 12 (20.8 ml/min) months; serum urea at 3 (14.4%), 12 (9.0%), and 24 (8.2%) months; and 24-hour urinary volume at 12 (438 ml) and 24 (268 ml) months. Urinary calcium excretion increased at 3 (36.1%) and 12 (35.7%) months without changes in bone density or clinical presentations of new kidney stones.
conclusionsIn healthy obese individuals, a low-carbohydrate high-protein weight-loss diet over 2 years was not associated with noticeably harmful effects on GFR, albuminuria, or fluid and electrolyte balance compared with a low-fat diet. Further follow-up is needed to determine even longer-term effects on kidney function.
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Identifiers
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.