Chronic kidney disease could be linked to worse brain function

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2026-02-18 03:00

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More advanced chronic kidney disease is associated with worse brain function, according to international researchers. The study included 5,607 participants between 21-79 years of age, looking at blood and urine samples for kidney function, and a cognitive function assessment for brain function over six years. They found that those with more severe chronic kidney disease had an increase in cognitive impairment - including attention, processing speed, and executive function - even when taking known risk factors into account.

News release

From: JAMA

Chronic Kidney Disease Severity and Risk of Cognitive Impairment

About The Study: This cohort study of patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) suggests that a more advanced CKD stage was associated with increased incidence of cognitive impairment. These findings underscore CKD severity as a risk factor for cognitive decline across the CKD spectrum.

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Journal/
conference: JAMA Network Open

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: University of Illinois Chicago, USA

Funder: Funding for the Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort (CRIC) Study was obtained under a cooperative agreement from National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (grants U01DK060990, U01DK060984, U01DK061022, U01DK061021, U01DK061028, U01DK060980, U01DK060963, U01DK060902, and U24DK060990). In addition, this work was supported in part by the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania Clinical and Translational Science Award National Institutes of Health (NIH)/National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) grant UL1TR000003, Johns Hopkins University grant UL1 TR-000424, University of Maryland grant GCRC M01 RR-16500, Clinical and Translational Science Collaborative of Cleveland, grant UL1TR000439 from the NCATS component of the NIH and NIH Roadmap for Medical Research, Michigan Institute for Clinical and Health Research grant UL1TR000433, University of Illinois at Chicago Center for Clinical and Translational Science grant UL1RR029879, Tulane COBRE (Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence) for Clinical and Translational Research in Cardiometabolic Diseases grant P20 GM109036, Kaiser Permanente NIH/National Center for Research Resources University of California San Francisco Clinical and Translational Science Institute grant UL1 RR-024131, and Department of Internal Medicine, University of New Mexico School of Medicine Albuquerque grant NM R01DK119199.

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