GFR

[Kathy]

I am a 47 yr old female who recently had an annual physical. Everything was fine except slightly elevated cholesterol and a GFR of 57. I asked my Dr if I should be concerned about my kidneys. She said, "No, I was probably dehydrated because I hadn't had any thing to eat or drink before the test." Is she right or should I be concerned?

[DoriSchatell]

Hi Kathy,

Good for you for asking questions and monitoring your health! I looked in PubMed and was not able to find much--but there was a study in dogs that found significantly reduced GFR when the dogs were dehydrated. So, your doctor may well be right about your result. If you are still concerned about the result, it might be worth asking your doctor if you could have the test repeated in 3 months or 6 months and be sure not to be dehydrated.