Obesity Linked with Delayed Graft Function in Kidney Transplant Recipients

After conducting a literature search of studies up to August 2013 that compared obese and nonobese patients who underwent kidney transplantation, investigators found that obesity was linked with a 41% higher risk of delayed graft function but no higher risk of acute rejection. Graft loss and death were associated with obesity only in an analysis of studies that evaluated patients receiving a kidney graft before 2000. Obesity was linked with a twofold increased risk of death by cardiovascular disease; however, most studies included in this analysis evaluated patients who received a graft after 2000. The findings are published in Transplantation.