Hydrogen and Kidney Health: A Guide to the Studies

By Hydrogen Studies Editorial Team · Updated

Hydrogen Studies is funded by Echo Technologies LLC, which sells hydrogen water products. Echo doesn't decide which studies we cover or how we describe them — see our editorial policy.

Evidence at a glance: very low for drinking hydrogen water and kidney health. The best human data come from hydrogen added to dialysis fluid, in small or non-randomized studies, mostly from one Japanese group.

This page maps the research on molecular hydrogen and the kidneys. For the plain-language answer and safety advice, read our full guide: Is hydrogen water good for your kidneys?

What kind of research is this?

Of the roughly 95 studies in our database with the kidneys in the title, about two-thirds were in rats, mice or other animals. Only 16 involved people, and 15 of those were about dialysis.

What the human studies tested

  • Hydrogen in dialysis fluid. Researchers dissolved about 30–80 parts per billion of hydrogen into hemodialysis fluid. In a 6-month study of 21 patients with no comparison group, blood pressure and two inflammation markers fell. In a non-randomized study of 309 patients followed for about 3.3 years, the hydrogen group had a 41% lower adjusted risk of death or major heart, stroke or amputation events. A 12-month study of 81 patients reported less fatigue in the most fatigued patients, again with no control group. This is a medical treatment delivered through a dialysis machine, not a drink.
  • Drinking hydrogen for chronic kidney disease (CKD). We found no controlled trial. The human evidence is a single case report of an 89-year-old woman whose creatinine fell after she started hydrogen capsules. A 2025 scoping review of 69 publications called for more robust clinical trials.
  • Kidney stones. In a 2026 randomized trial of 100 people, 32% of those who added hydrogen-rich water to standard care for 12 weeks responded, versus 28% on standard care alone (and 76% with a Chinese herbal formula).
  • Contrast dye injury and kidney transplants. We found no human trials.

What animal studies suggest (not human evidence)

In rats, inhaled hydrogen gas reduced kidney injury from contrast dye, and hydrogen water given for 150 days after a kidney transplant slowed chronic graft damage. In mice given the chemotherapy drug cisplatin, drinking water with about 1.6 ppm hydrogen reduced kidney damage. Not every result is positive: in pig kidneys reconnected to blood outside the body, 2% hydrogen gas did not improve function. Lab injuries are sudden; CKD develops over years.

What we don't know

  • Whether drinking hydrogen water changes eGFR, creatinine or urine protein in people with kidney disease
  • Whether the dialysis results hold up in randomized trials by independent groups
  • What dose, concentration or duration would matter
  • Long-term safety of hydrogen water in people with reduced kidney function

If you have kidney disease

Talk to your nephrologist before trying hydrogen water, and don't change any treatment. It counts toward any fluid limit. Magnesium-based hydrogen tablets leave magnesium in the drink, which matters when the kidneys can't clear it well.

Drafted with AI assistance and checked against each linked source by our editorial team. General information, not medical advice.

Frequently asked questions

Are there clinical trials of hydrogen water for kidney disease?

Very few. We found no controlled trial in which people with chronic kidney disease drank hydrogen water and had their kidney function measured. The only randomized trial we found of drinking hydrogen-rich water for a kidney condition enrolled 100 people with kidney stones: after 12 weeks, 32% of those who added hydrogen water to standard care responded, compared with 28% on standard care alone. Most other human studies added hydrogen to dialysis fluid rather than drinking water.

Why do most human studies of hydrogen and the kidneys involve dialysis?

Researchers in Japan developed a way to dissolve small amounts of hydrogen, about 30 to 80 parts per billion, into the fluid used for hemodialysis, and tested it in people already on dialysis. In the largest study, 309 patients were followed for about 3.3 years, and those on hydrogen-enriched dialysis had a lower adjusted risk of death or major heart, stroke or amputation events. Patients were not randomized, and the results apply to a medical dialysis system, not to drinking hydrogen water.

Do animal studies show that hydrogen protects the kidneys?

In many rat and mouse studies, hydrogen given as drinking water, injected saline or inhaled gas reduced kidney damage caused on purpose in the lab, for example by a chemotherapy drug, contrast dye or a kidney transplant. Not every study was positive: hydrogen gas did not improve the function of pig kidneys reconnected to blood outside the body. Animal results are reasons to run human trials, not proof that hydrogen protects human kidneys.

What should people with kidney disease know before trying hydrogen water?

Talk to your nephrologist first, especially if you have chronic kidney disease or are on dialysis, and don't change any treatment. Hydrogen water still counts toward any daily fluid limit. Magnesium-based hydrogen tablets leave magnesium in the drink, and the kidneys are the main way the body gets rid of extra magnesium. Hydrogen water is not a substitute for kidney care.

Sources

  1. Nakayama M, Nakano H, Hamada H, et al. A novel bioactive haemodialysis system using dissolved dihydrogen (H2) produced by water electrolysis: a clinical trial. Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation. 2010;25(9):3026-33. PubMed · Our summary
  2. Nakayama M, Itami N, Suzuki H, et al. Novel haemodialysis (HD) treatment employing molecular hydrogen (H2)-enriched dialysis solution improves prognosis of chronic dialysis patients: a prospective observational study. Scientific Reports. 2018;8(1):254. PubMed · Our summary
  3. Nakayama M, Watanabe K, Sato E, et al. Hemodialysis employing molecular hydrogen (H2) enriched dialysis solution may improve dialysis related fatigue through impact on energy metabolism. Scientific Reports. 2025;15(1):5039. PubMed · Our summary
  4. Lin YT, Lu JW, Ho YJ, et al. Molecular hydrogen as a potential adjunctive therapy to improve renal function and reduce fatigue in an elderly patient with chronic comorbidities: a case report. In Vivo. 2025;39(1):572-576. PubMed · Our summary
  5. Viana J, Castro C, Leiva V. Molecular hydrogen and kidney diseases: a scoping review based on scientometry and data analytics. Medical Gas Research. 2025 (issue 2026;16(2):161-168). PubMed · Our summary
  6. Yin Y, Wang J, Lian F, et al. Hydrogen-rich water combined with traditional Chinese medicine compound in the treatment of kidney stones: a randomized controlled prospective clinical trial. Medical Gas Research. 2026 (issue 17(1):63-69). PubMed
  7. Homma K, Yoshida T, Yamashita M, et al. Inhalation of hydrogen gas is beneficial for preventing contrast-induced acute kidney injury in rats. Nephron Experimental Nephrology. 2015. PubMed · Our summary
  8. Cardinal JS, Zhan J, Wang Y, et al. Oral hydrogen water prevents chronic allograft nephropathy in rats. Kidney International. 2010;77(2):101-9. PubMed · Our summary
  9. Nakashima-Kamimura N, Mori T, Ohsawa I, Asoh S, Ohta S. Molecular hydrogen alleviates nephrotoxicity induced by an anti-cancer drug cisplatin without compromising anti-tumor activity in mice. Cancer Chemotherapy and Pharmacology. 2009;64(4):753-61. PubMed · Our summary
  10. Hosgood SA, Moore T, Qurashi M, Adams T, Nicholson ML. Hydrogen gas does not ameliorate renal ischemia reperfusion injury in a preclinical model. Artificial Organs. 2018;42(7):723-727. PubMed · Our summary

Research Studies

100 studies in our database.

Read the full guide: Is hydrogen water good for your kidneys? Our full, evidence-graded guide

Explore Other Conditions