Comparative Analysis of Arterial Stiffness and Body Composition in Early and Late Periods After Kidney Transplantation

Introduction: Diseases of the cardiovascular system are the most common cause of death in patients after kidney transplantation (KTx). Pulse wave velocity (PWV) measurement is a simple, noninvasive, and increasingly popular method to assess arterial stiffness, and thus to assess cardiovascular risk. The aim of the study was to compare arterial stiffness and body composition in patients after KTx in the early and late postoperative periods.

Methods: This research was carried out from January to November 2017 at two locations: (1) Department and Clinic of General and Transplant Surgery and (2) Nephrology and Transplantology Clinic Medical University of Warsaw, the Infant Jesus Teaching Hospital, Warsaw, Poland. The study group consisted of 30 patients in the early postoperative period (2-7 postoperative days) and 151 patients in the late period (6 months to 27 years) after KTx. A single blood pressure measurement, PWV, was performed using a Schiller BR-102 plus PWV. Body composition analysis was performed using a Tanita MC-780 device.

Results: The average PWV for patients in the early period after KTx was 8.02 ± 2.21 m/s and in the late period 8.09 ± 1.68 m/s. Positive correlations were found between adipose tissue in the abdominal cavity (R = 0.444, P = .033) and PWV value. There was no correlation between the values of PWV and time after transplantation (R = 0.034, P = .777). Upon analyzing patients after transplantation and taking into account the type of dialysis therapy, lower systolic blood pressure (142 ± 21 mm Hg vs 156 ± 24 mm Hg) and diastolic blood pressure (84 ± 13 mm Hg vs 98 ± 11 mm Hg) values were observed in patients treated with hemodialysis compared with those treated with peritoneal dialysis.

Conclusion: Using PWV measurement, we found that arterial stiffness levels were similar for early and late periods after transplantation.