Sci Rep. 2026 Feb 26. doi: 10.1038/s41598-026-39217-9. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
Albuminuria is strongly associated with the development and progression of cardiovascular disease. We aimed to investigate the association between Life's Essential 8 (LE8) and albuminuria. The cross-sectional study enrolled 8,648 adults and excluded individuals with incomplete LE8 index data, missing serum creatinine or albumin/creatinine ratio data, and a diagnosis of chronic kidney disease. Albuminuria was defined as urinary albumin to creatinine ratio (uACR) ≥ 30 mg/g. According to the recommendation of the American Heart Association (AHA), the LE8 score was categorized into three groups: high cardiovascular health (CVH), medium CVH, and low CVH. To evaluate the relationship between LE8 and albuminuria, logistic regression and restricted cubic spline models were employed. Of the 8,648 participants, 949 (11.0%) had albuminuria. After adjusting for potential confounding factors, compared with the low CVH group, the moderate CVH group (odds ratio: 0.552; 95% confidence interval: 0.388 to 0.786; P = 0.001) and high CVH group (OR: 0.253; 95%CI: 0.173 to 0.372; P < 0.001) showed a significant lower odds of albuminuria, and a significant linear negative association between LE8 scores and uACR levels was observed, as well as a non-linear connection between LE8 score and albuminuria. The prevalence of albuminuria was greater among female individuals across all CVH groups compared to their male counterparts. The LE8 scores exhibited a negative correlation with albuminuria levels. Adhering to optimal cardiovascular health is associated with better kidney health.
PMID:41748778 | DOI:10.1038/s41598-026-39217-9