Photo Credit: Freepick

The following is a summary of “Dietary vitamin E and tocopherol isoform intake and the progression of chronic kidney disease,” published in the March 2025 issue of Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation by Zhang et al. 

The link between dietary vitamin E, tocopherol isoforms, and chronic kidney disease (CKD) outcomes remains unclear. Different isoforms may have distinct effects on CKD progression. 

Researchers conducted a retrospective study to assess the link between dietary vitamin E, tocopherol isoforms, CKD progression, and mortality.  

They included 3,791 participants with CKD from the chronic renal insufficiency cohort (CRIC) study. They assessed dietary vitamin E and tocopherol isoforms using the Diet History Questionnaire at baseline, year 2, and year 4. They defined CKD progression as a 50% decline in eGFR or initiation of kidney replacement therapy. They analyzed all-cause mortality as the secondary outcome. 

The results showed that during a median follow-up of 5.5 years, 1,188 (31.3%) CKD progression events occurred. There was an L-shaped relationship between total vitamin E intake and CKD progression and all-cause mortality. Dietary beta-tocopherol showed an L-shaped relationship with CKD progression and all-cause mortality, gamma-tocopherol showed a reversed J-shaped relationship with CKD progression, and delta-tocopherol showed a U-shaped relationship with CKD progression. Dietary alpha-tocopherol had no significant association with CKD progression or all-cause mortality. 

Investigators found an L-shaped association between total vitamin E and CKD progression. Different tocopherol isoforms had varying relationships with CKD progression, including L-shaped for beta-tocopherol, reversed J-shaped for gamma-tocopherol, U-shaped for delta-tocopherol, and non-significant for alpha-tocopherol. 

Source: academic.oup.com/ndt/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/ndt/gfaf052/8063575