Western diet linked to sixfold increase in Kidney disease risk – New Ghana study
A study conducted in Ghana has established that individuals who consume a highly pro-inflammatory diet face more than six times the risk of developing chronic kidney disease compared to those who eat anti-inflammatory foods.
The research, published on May 26, 2026, in Scientific Reports, a journal within the Nature portfolio, was carried out by a team of Ghanaian and international researchers led by Antwi Joseph Barimah of the College of Health at Yamfo.
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The findings come at a critical time when kidney disease incidence has been rising steadily across the country, with some health experts pointing to a gradual dietary transition away from traditional Ghanaian eating patterns.
The study enrolled two hundred participants at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital between August and October 2022, dividing them equally into a chronic kidney disease group and a healthy control group. Researchers employed a structured food frequency questionnaire adapted from World Health Organisation and Food and Agriculture Organisation guidelines to assess what participants ate, then calculated a Dietary Inflammatory Index score based on twenty-nine dietary parameters including fats, carbohydrates, proteins, fibre, vitamins, and even tea and onion consumption.
What the team discovered was striking. While twenty per cent of all participants fell into the highest pro-inflammatory diet category, the disparity between the sick and the healthy was enormous. Thirty-one per cent of those with chronic kidney disease consumed a highly pro-inflammatory diet, compared to just nine per cent of the control group. Conversely, thirty-eight per cent of healthy participants ate a strongly anti-inflammatory diet, while only two per cent of kidney disease patients did so.
The dose-response relationship proved equally alarming. As dietary inflammatory scores rose, so did the odds of kidney disease. Participants in the third quintile of pro-inflammatory eating were nearly three times more likely to have chronic kidney disease than those in the lowest category. Those in the fourth quintile faced a fivefold increase in risk. And individuals in the highest pro-inflammatory quintile had their odds skyrocket by more than six times.
The study's authors pointed to a worrying trend in Ghanaian eating habits. The traditional Ghanaian diet, rich in vegetables, fruits and whole grains, is inherently anti-inflammatory. However, a shift towards westernised eating patterns high in saturated fats and simple sugars appears to be fuelling inflammation, which plays a critical role in the development of kidney disease in all its forms.
Interestingly, the research revealed that participants with kidney disease reported significantly higher protein intake than healthy controls, despite clinical guidelines recommending moderated protein consumption for non-dialysis patients. The authors noted that dietary restrictions are notoriously difficult to maintain in real-life situations, and that late disease presentation might mean strict dietary management is deprioritised in favour of general nutritional adequacy.
The researchers controlled for major confounding factors including age, sex, hypertension and diabetes, all known contributors to kidney disease. Even after these adjustments, the association between pro-inflammatory diets and chronic kidney disease remained powerfully significant.
Lead author Antwi Joseph Barimah and his colleagues have recommended that healthcare providers at Korle-Bu and similar facilities incorporate dietary inflammatory index scoring into routine screening for patients at risk of chronic kidney disease. They have also called for nutrition counselling to emphasise anti-inflammatory eating patterns, including increased intake of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and healthy fats, while reducing processed foods high in saturated fats. The team further advocated for more active integration of dietitians into renal care teams to guide individualised dietary interventions.
The study acknowledged certain limitations, including the use of non-probability sampling which may limit generalisability, and the potential for recall bias inherent in food frequency questionnaires. There is also the possibility that some kidney disease patients, having received prior dietary counselling, may have reported a healthier intake than they actually consumed. The authors recommended that future research employ alternative, less subjective dietary assessment methods.
The study was approved by the Scientific and Technical Committee of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, and all participants provided informed signed consent. The authors declared no competing interests and confirmed that no external funding was received for the research.
