Post-transplant anemia as a persistent risk factor for graft dysfunction in kidney transplant recipients

Post-transplant anemia (PTA) is associated with adverse graft outcomes after kidney transplantation. However, it remains unclear whether persistent anemia despite erythropoiesis-stimulating agent (ESA) therapy is associated with long-term graft dysfunction in routine clinical practice.

This single-center retrospective study included 323 kidney transplant recipients followed at Masuko Kinen Hospital, Japan, from 2019 to 2021. The primary analysis used a linear mixed-effects model with repeated averaged estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFRave) measurements over 2 years, treating hemoglobin (Hb) as a time-updated covariate. Supportive analyses evaluated 2-year change in eGFRave in the overall cohort and a propensity score-matched cohort.

Recipients receiving ESA therapy had lower Hb levels and worse baseline kidney function than those not receiving ESA therapy. In the primary linear mixed-effects model, eGFRave declined over time (β = -1.86 per year; 95% confidence interval [CI], -2.20 to -1.53; p < 0.001). Higher Hb levels were independently associated with higher eGFRave over time (β =  0.76 per 1 g/dL; 95% CI, 0.44-1.09; p < 0.001), whereas ESA use itself was not independently associated with graft function trajectory (β =  0.17; 95% CI, -0.80 to 1.14; p = 0.731). In supportive analyses, greater graft function decline was observed in recipients receiving ESA therapy in both the overall and propensity score-matched cohorts.

Persistent PTA, rather than ESA use itself, was associated with graft function decline in kidney transplant recipients. Hb likely reflects underlying graft pathology, inflammation, or ESA resistance rather than being directly causal.