J Korean Med Sci.  2010 Nov;25(11):1589-1594. 10.3346/jkms.2010.25.11.1589.

Cardiovascular Diseases after Kidney Transplantation in Korea

• Jeong JC
• Ro H
• Hwang YH
• Lee HK
• Ha J
• Ahn C
• Yang J

• KMID: 1779228
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2010.25.11.1589

Abstract

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in renal allograft recipients with functioning graft. Our study aimed to determine the incidence and the risk factors of cardiovascular disease after renal transplantation in Korea. We retrospectively analyzed 430 adult recipients who underwent kidney transplantation between January 1997 and February 2007. CVD was defined as a composite outcome of ischemic heart disease, cerebrovascular accident and peripheral vascular disease. Mean age of recipients was 40.0+/-11.8 yr. Mean duration of follow-up was 72+/-39 months. The cumulative incidence of CVD after renal transplantation was 2.4% at 5 yr, 5.4% at 10 yr and 11.4% at 12 yr. Multivariate analysis revealed that recipient's age, diabetes mellitus and duration of dialysis before transplantation were associated with post-transplant CVD (hazard ratio 1.843 [95% CI, 1.005-3.381], 3.846 [95% CI, 1.025-14.432] and 3.394 [95% CI, 1.728-6.665] respectively). In conclusion, old age, duration of dialysis and diabetes mellitus are important risk factors for post-transplant CVD, although the incidence of post-renal transplant CVD is lower in Korea than that in western countries.

Keyword

Cardiovascular Diseases; Incidence; Kidney Transplantation; Risk Factors; Diabetes Mellitus; Koreans

MeSH Terms

Adult
Age Factors
Cardiovascular Diseases/*epidemiology/etiology
Diabetes Complications
Female
Humans
Incidence
*Kidney Transplantation
Male
Middle Aged
Multivariate Analysis
Renal Dialysis
Republic of Korea
Retrospective Studies
Risk Factors

Figure

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  Fig. 1 The cumulative incidence of cardiovascular disease after renal transplantation. The estimated percentage equals 2.4% after 5 yr, 5.4% after 10 yr and 11.4% after 12 yr.

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  Fig. 2 Differences in the cumulative incidence of cardiovascular disease according to diabetes status. Median time interval from transplantation to CVD was significantly different between groups. (Diabetes vs PTDM vs non-diabetes, 14 months: 122 months: 40 months, P<0.001, Log rank test).

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