Assessment of nutritional status in kidney transplant recipients aged over 70 years: A single-center retrospective...

The number of kidney transplant recipients over the age of 70 is increasing. These older patients are at higher risk of malnutrition, yet data on their post-transplant nutritional status are scarce.

This was a single-center retrospective pilot study conducted at Caen University Hospital. It included kidney transplant recipients aged over 70 years. The objective was to assess weight change between transplant notification and the first month post-transplant.

In our study, 31 of 71 patients (44%) experienced weight loss ≥5% at one month (M1). Few pre-transplant factors were associated with malnutrition risk. However, weight loss during the first postoperative week was a significant predictive factor (OR: 1.82; 95% CI: 1.35–2.73; p=0.001).

Malnutrition is an early post-transplant complication and is frequent at one month (M1) in older patients. Early prehabilitation and rehabilitation programs implemented by multidisciplinary teams (nephrologists, advanced practice nurses, dieticians, geriatricians, physiotherapists, psychologists, etc.) are essential.