Gender differences in cardiovascular outcomes of kidney transplant recipients: A retrospective cohort study

The purpose of this study was to investigate gender differences in cardiovascular outcomes of kidney transplant recipients (KTRs). Here, a retrospective cohort study was conducted, and data from the National Health Insurance Research Database in Taiwan were used. In total, 2904 patients who had end-stage renal disease (ERSD) and received kidney transplantation (KT) were identified by propensity score matching (PSM) and were enrolled from 1997 to 2012, with follow-up ending in 2013. Besides, major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) were defined as a composite of all-cause mortality, nonfatal myocardial infarction, and nonfatal strokes. Apart from that, hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated by Cox regression, while the Bayesian network model was constructed to assess the importance of risk factors for MACEs. Furthermore, the original cohort was a sensitivity analysis. Women had a lower risk of MACEs compared with men (hazard ratio [HR]: 0.84; 95% CI: 0.72-0.98; P = .024). Beyond that, stratified analysis of age and waiting time for KT showed that the risk of MACEs was significantly lower in women than in men among KTRs aged > 50 years (HR: 0.79; 95% CI: 0.62-1.0; P = .05) or waiting time for KT ≤ 6 years (HR: 0.85; 95% CI: 0.72-0.99; P = .04). Bayesian network indicated that age is an important determinant of cardiovascular outcomes in KTRs, regardless of gender. In Taiwan, women had a lower risk of adverse cardiovascular outcomes than men in KTRs aged > 50 years or with a waiting time for KT ≤ 6 years. Furthermore, age is an important independent determinant for the prognosis of KTRs.