The Study
#3805 A FEASIBILITY STUDY EXPLORING THE IMPACT OF A LOW ADVANCED GLYCATION END-PRODUCT DIET ON SKIN AUTOFLUORESCENCE IN KIDNEY TRANSPLANT RECIPIENTS
This study tried to see if eating less grilled or fried food would make a marker of aging in the skin go down in people who had kidney transplants. It didn’t work — the skin marker didn’t change. So we can’t say that changing your diet causes better skin health here.
Analysis score
Maximum 90 for a randomized controlled trial.
Where the score came from
This study tested if eating food cooked in water (like boiled or steamed) instead of grilled or fried could lower a marker of body damage in people who got kidney transplants.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 553 / 100
Quality score
Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups, minimizing bias. The gold standard for testing whether an intervention causes an effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Even though they ate less of the harmful compounds, their body didn't show less damage — suggesting the damage might come from inside the body, not just food.
- 2People on the low-AGE diet ate 70% less of the harmful food compounds, but their body damage marker (SAF) didn't change more than those eating normally.
- 3SAF was already high at the start (2.9 AU vs.
- 4normal 2.1 AU).
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation
Year
2023
Authors
D. Hörner, M. Taal, Janson C. H. Leung, Ellen Patullo, Catherine P. Johnson
Related Content
Claims (5)
In kidney transplant recipients, higher levels of skin autofluorescence, a marker of tissue advanced glycation end-products, are consistently linked to reduced kidney function and lower consumption of energy and fat.
In a six-month study of kidney transplant recipients on a low-AGE diet, 34% of participants dropped out and only 69% followed the diet as required, showing that such diets are difficult to maintain long-term in this group.
Among kidney transplant recipients with high levels of skin autofluorescence, a six-month diet low in advanced glycation end-products reduced dietary intake of these compounds but did not change skin autofluorescence levels compared to a normal diet.
Kidney transplant recipients who followed a low-advanced glycation end-product diet for six months reduced their dietary AGE intake by 70%, with 69% adherence, showing that such dietary changes are possible but difficult to maintain.
In people who have received a kidney transplant, reducing dietary advanced glycation end-products for a short time does not lower skin autofluorescence, even though their dietary intake of these compounds decreases. This suggests that internal metabolic processes, not diet, are the main source of tissue accumulation in this group.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.