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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Nutr.

Sec. Nutritional Epidemiology

Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fnut.2025.1538289

This article is part of the Research Topic Nutritional Epidemiology: Advances in the Analysis of Healthy and Sustainable Dietary Patterns View all 5 articles

Healthy Dietary Pattern, Biological Aging and Kidney Stones: Evidence from NHANES 2007-2018

Provisionally accepted
Chengcheng Wei Chengcheng Wei 1Qian Yang Qian Yang 2Jingke He Jingke He 1Yu Luo Yu Luo 1Kun Han Kun Han 1Shuai Su Shuai Su 1*Jindong Zhang Jindong Zhang 2*Delin Wang Delin Wang 1*
  • 1 Department of Urology, First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China
  • 2 First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, Chongqing Municipality, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: This study aims to investigate the comprehensive association of healthy dietary patterns, biological aging, and kidney stones in a large population-based cohort.Methods: We included six cycles of NHANES surveys from 2007 to 2018. A total of 26,755 participants were retained for analysis. Logistic regression, Restricted cubic splines and Mediation model were used to analyze this association. Machine learning of SHAP was used to identify the relative importance. Sensitivity analysis was used to validate the stability of the results.Results: We found higher healthy dietary score had a significantly reduced kidney stones prevalence risk (AEHI (OR = 0.76, 95% CI 0.69 to 0.84), DASHI (OR = 0.67, 95% CI 0.58 to 0.77), HEI2020 (OR = 0.80, 95% CI 0.72 to 0.89), and MEDI (OR = 0.81, 95% CI 0.73 to 0.89)). While higher aging indicators including Klemera-Doubal Method Age (KDMAge, OR = 2.40, 95% CI 1.70 to 3.37) and Phenotypic Age (PhenoAge, OR = 2.36, 95% CI 1.75 to 3.19), had increased kidney stones prevalence risk. Mediation analyses suggested aging indicators significantly mediated the associations of healthy dietary and kidney stones. Machine learning of SHAP revealed the relative importance of dietary pattern and specific dietary components. Sensitivity analysis is largely consistent with the primary analyses.Conclusion: These findings provide important insights into the complex interplay between dietary pattern, biological aging, and kidney stone. Promoting healthy dietary patterns may be a beneficial approach to kidney stone prevention, potentially by modulating the underlying biological aging processes.

    Keywords: Healthy dietary pattern, biological aging, Kidney stone, Epidemiology, prospective cohort study

    Received: 02 Dec 2024; Accepted: 06 Mar 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Wei, Yang, He, Luo, Han, Su, Zhang and Wang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Shuai Su, Department of Urology, First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China
    Jindong Zhang, First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, 400016, Chongqing Municipality, China
    Delin Wang, Department of Urology, First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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