Posttransplant Proteinuria Is Associated With Higher Risk of Cardiovascular Disease and Graft Failure in Renal Transplant Patients

In this study, we sought to determine whether proteinuria after renal transplantation was associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD), patient survival, and long-term allograft survival. One hundred twenty-six patients included 102 males and 24 females of mean age 30.7 ± 8.9 years. Their mean follow-up was 63.21 ± 19.9 months. All patients were evaluated for CVD, namely, ischemic heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, and peripheral vascular disease. Proteinuria was defined as urinary protein ≥500 mg/d which persisted for >6 months after transplantation. We retrospectively examined pre- and posttransplant data, including sex, age at transplantation, smoking, pretransplant dialysis duration, donor status, number of acute rejection episodes, body mass index, systolic and diastolic blood pressure levels, lipid profile and other biochemical parameters, immunosuppressive regimens, as well as pulse steroid dose. Proteinuria was significantly associated with CVD (P = .001; RR = 6.43; confidence interval [CI] 2.15–19.22). Patients with proteinuria showed significantly lower graft survival rates than those without proteinuria (58.62% vs 80.41%; P = .02). The mean time to appearance of proteinuria was 14.1 ± 11.4 months (range, 1–36 months). There was no significant association between proteinuria and patient survival. Patients with persistent proteinuria displayed a greater number of acute rejection episodes (1.20 ± 1.17 vs 0.62 ± 0.85; P = .004) and higher pulse steroid dosages (4380.0 ± 3123.4 vs 2800.0 ± 2766.7; P = .022). In conclusion, persistent proteinuria is a strong risk factor for CVD among renal transplant patients. Therefore, an etiologic search and antiproteinuric strategy should be considered routinely to improve patient and graft outcomes.