Short-term prospective study of metabolic syndrome in renal transplant recipients.

BACKGROUND:Metabolic syndrome (MS) may affect patient and graft survival in renal transplant recipients. However, the evolution of MS during prospective follow-up remains uncertain. METHODS:Renal transplant patients were recruited for a study of MS in 2010 and then prospectively followed for 2 years. The modified Adult Treatment Panel III criteria adopted for Asian populations were used to define MS. RESULTS:A total of 302 cases (male:female = 154:148) with a mean duration of 10.5 ± 5.7 years after transplantation were enrolled. At initiation, 71 cases (23.5%) fulfilled the criteria of MS. At the end of follow-up, 11 cases had died and 21 had graft failure. Nine cases had insufficient data for reclassification. The remaining 261 cases completed a 2-year follow-up, and the prevalence of MS was 26.1% at the end of study. Of these, 7.79% (18 cases) of patients without MS had developed new-onset MS. Conversely, 16.9% (12 cases) with MS were free from MS at the end of study (P = .362). Patients with MS were associated with older age (57.1 ± 10.4 vs 52.6 ± 12.4 y; P = .006), more chronic allograft nephropathy (17.4% vs 7.1%; P = .01), proteinuria (22.5% vs 10.8%; P = .012), and use of more antihypertensive agents (1.49 ± 0.86 vs 0.80 ± 0.98; P < .0001). There was no significant change in serum creatinine in each subgroup. CONCLUSIONS:The status of MS in renal transplant patients is dynamic. MS patients were associated with more chronic allograft nephropathy and proteinuria.