A pattern of higher collective consumption of sweetened fruit drinks, soda and water was associated with a higher likelihood of developing chronic kidney disease (CKD), researchers warned.

It was surprising for the researchers to see water as a component of this beverage pattern that was linked to a higher risk of CKD. They noted that study participants may have reported their consumption of a wide variety of types of water, including flavoured and sweetened water. 

"There is a lack of comprehensive information on the health implications of the wide range of beverage options that are available in the food supply," said Casey Rebholz, Assistant Professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in the US. 

"In particular, there is limited information on which types of beverages and patterns of beverages are associated with kidney disease risk in particular." 

For the study, the researchers studied 3,003 men and women with normal kidney function. Findings, published in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, showed that among the participants, 185 (6 per cent) developed CKD. In addition, participants in the top tertile (any of the two points that divide an ordered distribution into three parts) for consumption of this beverage pattern were 61 per cent more likely to develop CKD than those in the bottom tertile.