Trends in the effects of pre-transplant diabetes on mortality and cardiovascular events after kidney transplantation

Abstract

Aims/Introduction: It is not clear whether survival in kidney transplant recipients with pre-transplant diabetes has improved over the past decades. We compared the rates of mortality and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) after renal transplantation in patients with and without pre-transplant diabetes. Furthermore, we investigated whether transplant era and recipient age affected the association between diabetes status and adverse events. Materials and Methods: This retrospective cohort study included 691 patients who underwent renal transplantation between 1994 and 2016 at a single tertiary center. We compared the incidences of post-transplant mortality and four-point MACE in patients with and without pre-transplant diabetes using Kaplan–Meier analysis and the Cox proportional hazard model, and assessed the interactions between diabetes status and transplant era and recipient age. Results: Of 691 kidney recipients, 143 (20.7%) had pre-transplant diabetes. The mean follow-up duration was 94.5 months. Kaplan–Meier analysis showed that patients with pre-transplant diabetes had higher incidences of post-transplant mortality and four-point MACE compared with those without pre-transplant diabetes (log–rank test, P < 0.001 for both). After adjusting for potential confounding factors, pre-transplant diabetes was associated with an increased risk of post-transplant mortality and four-point MACE (hazard ratio 1.90, 95% confidence interval 1.05–3.44, P = 0.034; and hazard ratio 1.75; 95% confidence interval 1.02–3.00, P = 0.043, respectively). The associations between pre-transplant diabetes status and all-cause mortality and four-point MACE were not affected by transplant era or recipient age. Conclusions: Pre-transplant diabetes remains a significant risk factor for mortality and four-point MACE in kidney transplant recipients.