Obesity Was Associated With Inferior Outcomes in Simultaneous Pancreas Kidney Transplant

BACKGROUND.: In kidney transplant, obesity was reported to be associated with increased posttransplant complications and worse survival outcomes. The impact of obesity in simultaneous pancreas-kidney (SPK) transplant is less known. METHODS.: Using Organ Procurement Transplantation Network/United Network for Organ Sharing data as of August 2008, we included all adults (>18 years) type 1 diabetic SPK recipients between years 2000 and 2007 with a pretransplant body mass index (BMI) of 18.5 to 40 kg/m. The cohort was divided in three groups: normal (BMI 18.5-24.9 kg/m, reference group), overweight (BMI 25-29.9 kg/m), and obese (BMI 30-40 kg/m). Covariate-adjusted relative risk of a combination of posttransplant complications and patient, pancreas and kidney allograft outcomes were evaluated. RESULTS.: Of 5725 recipients, 56%, 33%, and 11% were in normal, overweight, and obese groups, respectively. Overweight and obese recipients were older, had a higher percent of coronary artery disease, and private health insurance coverage. Overall posttransplant complications were higher in obese group (35.7% vs. 28.6%) when compared with normal BMI group. They were mainly due to increased delayed kidney graft function (11.8% vs. 7.4%), 1-year kidney acute rejection (17.0% vs. 12.1%), and pancreas graft thrombosis (2.6% vs. 1.3%). After adjusting for possible confounders, the odds ratios for overall transplant complications were 1.03 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.90-1.17) for overweight and 1.38 (95% CI: 1.15-1.68) for obese. Obesity, but not overweight, was associated with patient death (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.35; 95% CI: 1.00-1.81), pancreas graft loss (HR: 1.41; 95% CI: 1.17-1.69), and kidney graft loss (HR: 1.33; 95% CI: 1.05-1.67) at 3 years. The higher rates of death and graft failure in the first 30 days posttransplant mostly accounted for the 3-year survival differences. CONCLUSION.: Obesity in SPK recipients was associated with increased risk of posttransplant complications, pancreas and kidney graft loss, and patient death.