Effects of body weight variation in obese kidney recipients: a retrospective cohort study

Obese kidney allograft recipients have worse results in kidney transplantation (KT). However, there is lack of information regarding the effect of body mass index (BMI) variation after KT. The objective of the study was to evaluate the effects of body weight changes in obese kidney transplant recipients.

In this study we used data from the Catalan Renal Registry that included KT recipients from 1990 to 2011 (n = 5607). The annual change in post-transplantation BMI was calculated. The main outcome variables were delayed graft function (DGF), estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and patient and graft survival.

Obesity was observed in 609 patients (10.9%) at the time of transplantation. The incidence of DGF was significantly higher in obese patients (40.4% versus 28.3%; P < 0.001). Baseline obesity was significantly associated with worse short- and long-term graft survival (P < 0.05) and worse graft function during the follow-up (P < 0.005). BMI variations in obese patients did not improve eGFR or graft or patient survival.

Our conclusion is that in obese patients, decreasing body weight after KT does not improve either short-term graft outcomes or long-term renal function.