Relationship Between Body Mass Index and Proteinuria in Hypertensive Nephrosclerosis: Results From the African American Study of Kidney Disease and Hypertension (AASK) Cohort

Background Few studies have examined the association between obesity and markers of kidney injury in a chronic kidney disease population. We hypothesized that obesity is independently associated with proteinuria, a marker of chronic kidney disease progression. Study Design Observational cross-sectional analysis. Setting & Participants Post hoc analysis of baseline data for 652 participants in the African American Study of Kidney Disease (AASK). Predictors Obesity, determined using body mass index (BMI). Measurements & Outcomes Urine total protein–creatinine ratio and albumin-creatinine ratio measured in 24-hour urine collections. Results AASK participants had a mean age of 60.2 ± 10.2 years and serum creatinine level of 2.3 ± 1.5 mg/dL; 61.3% were men. Mean BMI was 31.4 ± 7.0 kg/m2 . Approximately 70% of participants had a daily urine total protein excretion rate