FRIDAY, Jan. 14 (HealthDay News) -- More than half of liver transplant recipients develop post-transplantation metabolic syndrome (PTMS), putting them at an increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease, according to a study published in the January issue of Liver Transplantation.
Ido Iaish, M.D., from Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tiqwa, Israel, and colleagues reviewed the files of 252 transplant recipients to identify the prevalence and risk factors for post transplantation metabolic syndrome. Clinical and laboratory parameters were used to identify obesity, hypertension, hyperglycemia, and dyslipidemia in the transplant recipients.
Metabolic syndrome was diagnosed in 5.4 percent of patients prior to their transplants, and 51.9 percent of patients following a transplant. The researchers found that patients who developed PTMS had significantly higher rates of typical metabolic derangements and higher rates of pre-transplantation hepatitis C. Significant independent predictors of PTMS were age, pretransplant nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, body mass index, diabetes, and triglycerides. A greater number of major cardiovascular events were seen in patients with PTMS than those without (15.2 versus 4.9 percent). There was no significant difference in mortality or causes of death in those with PTMS.
"The rate of metabolic syndrome in liver transplant recipients is more than twice that reported for the general population. PTMS is associated with cardiovascular morbidity but not mortality, and it may be predicted by pretransplantation conditions," the authors write.
Abstract
Full Text
Editorial
