Posttransplant Diabetes Mellitus: Incidence and Risk Factors

Objective

Posttransplant diabetes mellitus (PTDM) is a common and serious complication of renal transplantation. Estimates of the incidence of PTDM after renal transplantation vary between 2% and 54%. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the incidence and risk factors for PTDM among our renal transplant patients.

Patients and Methods

In this study we evaluated 121 nondiabetic patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) who underwent kidney transplantation for the first time at our centers since 2005. All patients received the same protocol of immunosuppressive therapy. PTDM was defined according to the clinical practice recommendations of the American Diabetes Association.

Results

At 12 months following renal transplantation, 9.9% of patients developed PTDM. Patients with PTDM were significantly older (P = .013) and had higher body mass index (P = .001). There were significant differences (P ≤ .05) between PTDM and non-PTDM patients with respect to systolic blood pressure, serum triglycerides (TG), peritoneal dialysis as renal replacement therapy before transplantation, and duration of pretransplant dialysis therapy. Upon multivariate analysis, serum TG, systolic blood pressure, and body mass index were associated with PTDM (P ≤ .05).

Conclusions

The incidence at 12 months of PTDM among our renal transplant recipients was 9.9%. The most important factors associated with PTDM were serum TG, systolic blood pressure, and body mass index.