Characteristics of Anemia and Iron Deficiency After Kidney Transplant

BackgroundNumerous studies have shown that iron deficiency is common in patients with end-stage renal disease. However, change of iron deficiency after kidney transplant (KT) is not fully understood. This study was undertaken to examine sequential changes of iron level after KT.MethodsA total of 1080 KT recipients enrolled in a multicenter observational cohort study between July 2012 and August 2018. A total of 786 patients with transferrin saturation and ferritin level at pretransplant and 1 year after KT were reviewed. Iron deficiency was defined as ferritin <200 ng/mL and total saturation of transferrin (TSAT) < 20%. Anemia was defined as hemoglobin (Hb) < 13 g/dL (male) or <12 g/dL (female).ResultsHemoglobin at 1 year after KT was higher than Hb at KT (13.64 [SD, 1.87] g/dL vs 10.53 [SD, 1.63] g/dL; P < .001). The TSAT decreased from baseline at 1 year after KT (33.89% [SD, 18.73%] vs 29.09% [SD, 14.54%]; P < .001), and ferritin level decreased from baseline at 1 year (190.63 [SD, 217.43] ng/mL vs 141.39 [194.25] ng/mL; P < .001). In patients with anemia at pretransplant, the group with anemia at 1 year after KT (persistent group) and the group without anemia at 1 year after KT (improved group) were compared. The persistent group showed higher pretransplant TSAT, lower 1-year TSAT, and lower estimated glomerular filtration rate at 1 year after KT than the improved group. In multivariate analysis, low ferritin at KT, low TSAT at 1 year, and high ferritin at 1 year were the risk factors for low Hb level at 1 year after adjusting multiple variables.ConclusionAnemia improved within 1 year after KT, although patients with iron deficiency increased. While ferritin reflected the inflammatory status, low TSAT at 1 year after KT was a risk factor for anemia at 1 year after KT.