Kidney Transplantation in Patients with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus: Long-Term Prognosis for Patients and Grafts

Kidney transplantation is the best therapeutic choice to improve survival and quality of life in patients with end-stage diabetic nephropathy. Long-term prognosis in diabetic patients who received kidney transplants, however, has not been delineated. We, therefore, studied patient and graft survival, graft function and cause of graft failure in 78 Type I diabetic kidney transplant recipients in The Rogosin Institute/The Weill-Cornell Medical Center, New York who had functioning grafts for more than one year. The results were compared with 78 non-diabetic patients who had functioning grafts for more than one year and were matched for age, gender, donor source, time of transplantation and immunosuppressive therapy protocol. Cumulative patient survival rates for diabetic patients were significantly lower than those of non-diabetic patients (86% vs. 97% at 5 years and 74% vs. 95% at 10 years, respectively; p < 0.05). The most common cause of death was cardiovascular disease. Graft survival rates for diabetic patients were also lower than that of non-diabetic patients (71% vs. 80% at 5 years and 58% vs. 72% at 10 years, respectively), but the differences did not reach statistical significance. Among the 22 failed grafts in diabetic patients, 7 (32%) were due to patient death rather than primary graft failure. If the patients who died with a functioning graft were censored, graft survival rates of diabetic patients approached those of non-diabetic patients (80% vs. 81% at 5 years and 65% vs. 73% at 10 years, respectively). Creatinine clearances in diabetic patients were lower than that in non-diabetic patients through the follow-up period, but the differences were significant only for the first few years. At no time was there a higher creatinine clearance for diabetic patients. Among the 16 patients who had transplant kidney biopsies two to seven years post-transplant, 6 showed morphological changes consistent with diabetic nephropathy. One patient lost graft function solely by recurrent diabetic nephropathy. We conclude that long-term patient survival for diabetic patients is significantly lower than that of non-diabetic patients, due primarily to cardiovascular disease. Graft survival is comparable between the two groups. Creatinine clearances of diabetic patients are lower than those of non-diabetic patients. There is no apparent glomerular hyperfiltration at any time in diabetic patients. Recurrence of diabetic nephropathy is a rare cause of graft failure in the first 10 year post-transplant period. Aggressive intervention to modify cardiovascular risk factors should improve patient and graft survival in diabetic kidney transplant recipients.