Cardiovascular risk factors in children after kidney transplantation--from short-term to long-term follow-up.

Cardiovascular-related mortality is 100-fold higher in pediatric renal transplant recipients than in the age-matched general population. Seventy-seven post-renal transplant children's charts were reviewed for cardiovascular risk factors at two and six months after transplantation (short term) and at two yr after transplantation and the last follow-up visit (mean 7.14 ± 3.5 yr) (long term). Significant reduction was seen in cardiovascular risk factors prevalence from two months after transplantation to last follow-up respectively: Hypertension from 52.1% to 14%, hypercholesterolemia from 48.7% to 33%, hypertriglyceridemia from 50% to 12.5%, anemia from 29.6% to 18.3%, hyperparathyroidism from 32% to 18.3% and hyperglycemia from 11.7% to 10%, and left ventricular hypertrophy from 25.8% at short term to 15%. There was an increase in the prevalence of obesity from 1.5% to 3.9% and of CKD 3-5 from 4.75% to 24%. The need for antihypertensive treatment decreased from 54% to 42%, and the percentage of patients controlled by one medication rose from 26% to 34%, whereas the percentage controlled by 2, 3, and 4 medications decreased from 21.9%, 5.5%, and 1.4% to 6%, 2%, and 0. Children after renal transplantation appear to have high rates of cardiovascular risk factors, mainly on short-term follow-up.