ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Nutr.

Sec. Nutrition, Psychology and Brain Health

Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fnut.2025.1467667

This article is part of the Research TopicNutritional psychiatry: a new approach in mental health supportView all 6 articles

Factors associated with dietary behaviour in kidney transplant recipients: a cross-sectional study

Provisionally accepted
Jiaxin FangJiaxin Fang1Xiaohong LinXiaohong Lin1Changyun WeiChangyun Wei2Qianlu WangQianlu Wang2Keke LinKeke Lin2Shuping ZhangShuping Zhang2Peiyu ZhaoPeiyu Zhao3Xiangru LiXiangru Li2Hongxia LiuHongxia Liu2*
  • 1School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China
  • 2Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, Beijing Municipality, China
  • 3China-Japan Friendship Hospital, Beijing, Beijing Municipality, China

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Background: Dietary behaviour among kidney transplant recipients(KTRs) is a critical factor influencing long-term postoperative outcomes. However, research focusing on the dietary behaviour of KTRs remains limited. The aim of this study was to examine the dietary behaviour and explore the influencing factors of dietary behaviour in KTRs based on a health promotion model.This was a cross-sectional study. A total of 289 KTRs from four hospitals were recruited from October 2022 to March 2023 by convenience sampling method. Participants completed a survey consisting of a general information questionnaire, the Dietary Self-management Ability Scale, the Perceived Dietary Behaviour Benefit and Barrier Questionnaire, the Self-Rating Depression Scale, and the Adapted Health Eating Cognitive Beliefs Questionnaire. The survey was administered both online and on-site. Data were analysed with Spearman's correlation analysis and path analysis.Dietary behaviour was at moderate level, with an index score of 78%. Depression (β = -0.207, P < 0.001), perceived behaviour benefits (β = 0.220, P < 0.001), perceived behaviour barriers (β = -0.234, P < 0.001), attitude (β = 0.135, P = 0.026), and social support (β = 0.166, P = 0.001) directly predicted dietary behaviour, while depression, attitude, and social support exhibited indirect effect on dietary behaviour.Conclusions: Medical staff could help KTRs change their poor dietary attitude and negative mode, guide them to receive more social support and perceived benefits, reduce their perceived barriers.These positive shifts could ultimately facilitate the emergence of healthy dietary behaviour and enhancement of quality of life.

Keywords: Kidney transplant recipients, dietary behaviour, Depression, Health promotion model, Path analysis

Received: 16 Oct 2024; Accepted: 22 May 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Fang, Lin, Wei, Wang, Lin, Zhang, Zhao, Li and Liu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Hongxia Liu, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, 100029, Beijing Municipality, China

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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