Smoking Timing, Healthy Diet, and Risk of Incident CKD Among Smokers: Findings From UK Biobank

Rationale & Objective

Although smoking is a recognized risk factor for chronic kidney disease (CKD), the relationship between the time smoking is initiated after awakening each day and CKD remains largely unstudied. This study examined the association between this timing and the risk of CKD, and the potential interactions of smoking timing with other risk factors for the occurrence of CKD.

Study Design

Observational cohort study.

Setting & Participants

A total of 32,776 participants in the UK Biobank with complete data on the time from waking to the first cigarette and free of prevalent CKD were included.

Exposure

Time from waking to the first cigarette.

Outcome

Incident CKD cases.

Analytical Approach

Cox proportional hazards regression was used to investigate the associations between the time smoking is initiated each day and the risk of CKD. The potential interactions of smoking timing with risk factors in relationship to CKD risk were assessed on both multiplicative and additive scales.

Results

During a median follow-up period of 12 years, 940 incident CKD cases occurred. Shorter durations of time from waking to the first cigarette were associated with a higher risk of incident CKD (P trend = 0.01). Compared with >120 minutes, the adjusted hazard ratio (HR) associated with smoking timing was 1.28 (95% CI, 0.92–1.80) for 61-120 minutes, 1.48 (95% CI, 1.11-1.96) for 30-60 minutes, 1.36 (95% CI, 1.01-1.88) for 5-15 minutes, and 1.70 (95% CI, 1.22-2.37) for <5 minutes, respectively. Furthermore, there was a significant additive interaction and multiplicative interactions between the timing of smoking and a healthy diet score (P for additive interaction = 0.01; P for multiplicative interaction = 0.004).

Limitations

Generalizability, possible residual confounding, limiting causal inference.

Conclusions

These findings reveal a significant association between the shorter time from waking to the first cigarette and a higher CKD risk. The magnitude of these associations was greater in the setting of an unhealthy diet.

Plain-Language Summary

This study explored the association of the daily timing of first cigarette smoking and the occurrence of kidney disease. Further, we addressed whether this association was influenced by the quality of the diet. The study found that smoking very soon after waking, especially when combined with a poorer quality diet, was associated with a significantly increased risk of developing chronic kidney disease. This research emphasizes the value of healthier lifestyle choices for kidney health.