The aging-related GFR decline in Chinese healthy elderly

PURPOSE: To elucidate the glomerular filtration rate (GFR) decline associated with aging in healthy Chinese elderly over 65 years old. METHODS: The analysis included 5375 individuals aged 65 and older from the Pujing Community in Shanghai, China. Individuals with diabetes, hypertension, current smoking, obesity, hyperlipidemia, proteinuria, or a history of stroke or cardiovascular disease as the unhealthy cohort were excluded from the healthy cohort. We analyzed the levels and changes of eGFR at different ages to determine the effects of aging on eGFR. RESULTS: The mean eGFR for healthy subjects aged 65-69, 70-74, 75-79, 80-84, and ≥ 85 years were 89.88, 85.36, 81.89, 72.08, and 71.87, respectively. These values were significantly higher than those for unhealthy subjects of the same age: 86.71, 82.21, 77.66, 66.55, and 57.97 mL/min/1.73 m², respectively. There was a linear correlation between eGFR and age, regardless of healthy or unhealthy status. However, gender did not significantly influence eGFR. The regression coefficient of the mean eGFR for a 1-year increase in age was - 0.999 mL/min/1.73 m² in healthy elderly subjects over 65 years old, as determined by multivariate linear regression analysis. CONCLUSION: The eGFR in healthy subjects over 65 years old in Shanghai, China declined at a rate of 0.999 mL/min/1.73 m² per year and was not significantly correlated with gender. This will help identify disease-induced renal function decline in the elderly.