Association Between Renal Dysfunction and Lipid Ratios in Rural Black South Africans

In the past, it has been reported that the black South African population may have a cardio-protective lipid profile; however, this may no longer be the case with urbanization, industrialization, and the nutritional transition that occurred in South Africa. Although these transitions may be low in rural areas, one would expect this influence to be lower in the rural populations; however, they are not immune to these changes. Hence, the present study aimed to determine the association of serum lipid profiles and lipid ratios with kidney dysfunction. This cross-sectional retrospective study used the AWI-Gen 1 dataset. This study consisted of 1399 participants who took part in the AWI-Gen phase 1. Participants aged below 40 years, pregnant women, mentally disturbed and participants with incomplete information to answer the aims and objectives of this study were excluded in the analysis of this study. The data were analyzed using SPSS. In the present study, the prevalence of kidney dysfunction was 11.7%, with women having a significantly higher prevalence as compared to men. Women with kidney dysfunction had significantly higher TC, TG, TG/HDL-C, and TC/HDL-C compared to those without kidney dysfunction. However, in men, there was no association between the two groups. TC, and LDL/HDL-C were associated with kidney dysfunction in women only. TG/HDL-C was associated with kidney dysfunction in both women and men. Elevated TC, LDL/HDL-C, TC/HDL-C, and TG/HDL-C were the risk factors for kidney dysfunction, particularly in women. This suggests that TC, TC/HDL-C, and TG/HDL-C levels may be useful for risk stratification and a potential target to reduce the risk of developing kidney dysfunction, particularly in women. Upcoming longitudinal studies examining the causal connection between serum lipids, and lipid ratios with the risk of kidney dysfunction are necessary to fully understand the potential relationship between TG/HDL-C, TC, and TC/HDL-C levels and kidney dysfunction.