Prevalence of the Metabolic Syndrome in Renal Transplant Recipients

Introduction: The cause of the metabolic syndrome (MS) is incompletely understood but represents a complex interaction between genetic, environmental, and metabolic factors, clearly including diet, and level of physical activity. The prevalence of MS is continuously increasing in the general population. Recently it has been found that MS is also common in renal transplant recipients (RTRs). The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and characteristics of MS in a group of Libyan renal transplant recipients, using two different diagnostic criteria. Methods: This study was conducted at the Nephrology Department of the National Heart Center, Tripoli, Libya. We determined the prevalence of MS in a group of renal transplant recipients using both the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP-ATP III) criteria and the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) criteria. All patients were more than six months post transplantation. Patients with Pre-transplant diabetes mellitus were excluded from the analysis. Results: By using the NCEP-ATP III criteria 26 out of 91 patients (28.6%) had the metabolic syndrome. MS was commoner in females than males, affecting 12 out of 35 females (34.3%) and 14 out of 56 males (25%). Using the IDF criteria the metabolic syndrome was diagnosed in 23 patients (25.3%). In this group of patients the most common component of the metabolic syndrome was high blood pressure and the least common was impaired glucose tolerance and diabetes. Conclusions: The prevalence of MS in our renal transplant patients is high, affecting females more than males.