Better cardiovascular health, as assessed by the Life’s Essential 8 score, was associated with lower prevalence of kidney stones based on patient self-reporting.

Better cardiovascular health is independently associated with a lower prevalence of kidney stones based on patients’ self-reporting, according to results published in Heliyon.

“The American Heart Association [AHA] recently released an updated algorithm for evaluating cardiovascular health (CVH)-Life’s Essential 8 (LE8) score,” the study team wrote. “Our objective was to investigate the correlation between levels of CVH, as determined by the LE8 score, and the risk of kidney stones among a representative sample of adults in the United States.”

Yushun Zhang, MD, and colleagues examined NHANES data from 2007–2016. The LE8 score, which ranges from 0 to 100, was used to evaluate overall CVH and was designated across three categories: low CVH (0–49), moderate CVH (50–79), and high CVH (80–100). Logistic regression was used to analyze the association between the LE8 score and kidney stones. Researchers performed a sensitivity analysis to validate the findings and assessed the presence of a non-linear relationship using regression methods.

Link Between Kidney Stones and LE8 Scores

The analysis included 19,988 participants (weighted mean age, 47.99), slightly more than half of whom were women (weighted percentage, 51.98%). The researchers identified 1,923 patients with kidney stones (weighted percentage, 9.95%).

In a fully adjusted multivariable model, higher LE8 scores were associated with the prevalence of self-reported kidney stones (OR for a 10-unit increase in score, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.82–0.91), indicating a linear dose-response relationship.

Compared with patients in the group with low CVH, those in the moderate (OR=0.80; 95% CI, 0.69–0.92) and high (OR=0.54; 95% CI, 0.43–0.69) CVH groups had a lower prevalence of kidney stones. The researchers observed similar trends when they examined the association between health behavior scores and kidney stones. Further, the negative correlation between the LE8 score and the prevalence of kidney stones was “markedly more pronounced” in various stratified analyses.

Cardiovascular Health’s Role in Kidney Health

The findings underscore “the significance of the AHA’s 2030 strategic objectives not just in relation to cardiovascular health, but more broadly,” Dr. Zhang and colleagues noted.

“It also advocates for the use of the LE8 in evaluating the prevalence of kidney stones and promoting kidney health,” the researchers wrote. “Longitudinal studies or intervention trials are needed to determine whether improving CVH levels can directly contribute to a reduction in the incidence of kidney stones.”