Risk of Incident Post-Transplantation Diabetes Mellitus After Solid Organ Transplantation in Taiwan: A Population-Based Cohort Study

TL;DR

This study found that people who receive solid organ transplants in Taiwan are at higher risk of developing diabetes, especially liver and kidney transplant recipients.

Contribution

The study provides population-based evidence on post-transplant diabetes risk in Taiwan, highlighting organ-specific differences.

Findings

Solid organ transplant recipients had a 61% higher risk of diabetes than the general population.

Liver transplant recipients had the highest risk of post-transplant diabetes.

Kidney and liver recipients showed the highest diabetes risk within 6 months after transplantation.

Abstract

Background: Solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients have an elevated risk of diabetes mellitus (DM). This study investigated the risk of posttransplant DM (PTDM) in a retrospective cohort study. Methods: We analyzed patients aged over 18 years who received an SOT between 2002 and 2013. Each patient was matched with four control individuals by age, sex, insured salary, urbanization level, Charlson’s comorbidity index (CCI), and year of inclusion in the study. After matching, the study comprised 6874 patients who underwent an SOT and 27,496 matched general patients as the comparison. The risk of DM among the SOT recipients was assessed using a Cox proportional hazards model after adjustment for all relevant variables. Results: The SOT cohort had a significantly higher risk of DM than general patients (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 1.61; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.51–1.72). Kidney and liver recipients, respectively, had DM incidence rates 1.57 (95% CI, 1.46–1.70) and 1.73 (95% CI, 1.53–1.94) times that of the general patients. Conclusions: SOT recipients had an elevated risk of DM. Among various organ recipients, liver recipients had the highest PTDM risk. Kidney and liver recipients demonstrated the highest DM risk at 6 months after their SOT. The risk of PTDM following an SOT may result in long-term consequences. Hence, we advise the critical need for proper management to mitigate related complications after transplantation.

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