Abstract
Background and Aims
Posttransplantation diabetes Mellitus (PTDM) is one of the major medical problems in renal transplant recipients (RTRs). Diuretic-induced hyperglycemia and diabetes have been described in the general population. We aimed to investigate whether diuretics also increase PTDM risk in RTRs.
Method
We included 486 stable outpatient RTRs (with a functioning graft ≥1 year) without diabetes from a prospective longitudinal study (the Transplantlines Food and Nutrition Study [NCT02811835]). Participants were classified as diuretic users and non-diuretic users based on their medication use recording at baseline. PTDM was defined according the American Diabetes Association’s diagnostic criteria for diabetes. Multivariable Cox proportional-hazards regression analyses were performed to assess the prospective association between diuretic use and the risk of PTDM development.
Results
Median time since transplantation was 5.4 (2.0-12.2) years and 168 (35%) RTRs were taking diuretics. After 5.2 (IQR, 4.0 5.9) years of follow up, 54 (11%) RTRs developed PTDM. In Kaplan-Meier (log-rank test, p<0.001) and Cox regression analyses, diuretic use was found to be associated with incident PTDM after adjustment for age, sex, fasting plasma glucose (FPG), and HbA1c (hazard ratio[HR] 3.28, 95% CI 1.84-5.83; p<0.001). The association remained independent of further adjustment for potential confounders, including lifestyle, use of other medication, kidney function, transplantation-specific parameters, BMI, lipids, and blood pressure. Exploratory analyses further indicates that, in Cox regression analyses, both thiazide (n=74) and loop diuretics (n=76) as two main types of diuretics used among RTRs appeared to be associated with the development of PTDM, independent of age, sex, FPG, and HbA1c ([HR 2.70, 95% CI 1.24-5.29; p=0.012], and [HR 5.08, 95% CI 2.49-10.34; p<0.001], respectively).
Conclusion
This study demonstrates that diuretics overall, associated with the risk of developing PTDM in RTRs, independent of established risk factors for PTDM development. The association was consistent for thiazide and loop diuretics.
A Prospective Longitudinal Study of BK Virus Infection in 104 Renal Transplant Recipients