Retrospective analysis of posttransplantation diabetes mellitus in black renal allograft recipients.

Objective: To study the incidence, outcome, and possible etiopathogenic factors involved in posttransplantation diabetes mellitus in cyclosporine-treated black renal allograft recipients.
Research Design and Methods: One hundred thirty-eight nondiabetic black renal transplant recipients whose grafts survived greater than 1 yr were studied retrospectively.
Results: Twenty-eight (20.3%) patients developed posttransplantation diabetes mellitus, 46 and 75% were diagnosed by 6- and 12-mo posttransplantation, respectively, and 46% were insulin dependent. Diabetes was more frequently encountered in older recipients and recipients of cadaveric kidneys but was independent of sex, number of transplants, incidence of acute rejection, percentage of body weight gain, steroid or cyclosporine dose, and use of beta-blockers and/or diuretics. Renal function was similar in the diabetic group compared with the control group. Actuarial 5-yr graft survival was 82% in the diabetic cohort compared with 78% in the control group, with chronic rejection accounting for all graft losses within the diabetic group.
Conclusions: Twenty percent of black cyclosporine-treated renal allograft recipients developed diabetes mellitus in the posttransplantation period. However, its presence did not appear to influence intermediate-term graft or patient survival.