Analysis of Risk Factors for Posttransplant Diabetes Mellitus After Kidney Transplantation: Single-Center Experience

Posttransplant diabetes mellitus may severely affect the short-term and long-term outcomes of grafts and patient survival in kidney transplant recipients. The annual incidence rate of posttransplant diabetes mellitus ranges from 4% to 25%. In this study, our aim was to determine the possible risk factors in patients diagnosed with this disease.

From November 1975 to May 2019, our transplant team performed 3012 kidney transplant procedures at different units within Baskent University Transplantation Centers. We retrospectively analyzed data of patients who were diagnosed with posttransplant diabetes mellitus between 2010 and 2019. The diagnosis was made according to the 2001 American Diabetes Association criteria (fasting plasma glucose level ≥ 126 mg/dL [7 mmol/L] in 2 measurements or random blood glucose level ≥ 200 mg/dL [11.1 mmol/L] within 12 months posttransplant).

For this study, 400 patients (292 male, 108 female) with end-stage renal disease and without diabetes met the initial inclusion criteria; 270 received hemodialysis, 26 received peritoneal dialysis, and 104 underwent preemptive kidney transplant. In this patient group, 62 patients (15.5%) developed post-transplant diabetes mellitus. When we compared patients who developed and did not develop posttransplant diabetes mellitus, cause of end-stage renal disease, dialysis type and duration, type of donor (living or deceased), and graft survival posttransplant were similar between groups. Baseline fasting plasma glucose level was significantly higher in patients who developed posttransplant diabetes mellitus (90 vs 85 mg/dL; P = .034). Patients who developed the disease were significantly older.

In our study, recipient age was the only risk factor for posttransplant diabetes mellitus. Older recipients should be examined more carefully for posttransplant diabetes mellitus, and less diabetogenic immunosuppressive drugs may be preferred.