Prospective Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2015. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Transplant. Sep 24, 2015; 5(3): 137-144
Published online Sep 24, 2015. doi: 10.5500/wjt.v5.i3.137
Weight trends in United States living kidney donors: Analysis of the UNOS database
Mala Sachdeva, Lisa M Rosen, Jeny Varghese, Steven Fishbane, Ernesto P Molmenti
Mala Sachdeva, Jeny Varghese, Steven Fishbane, Department of Medicine, Division of Kidney Diseases and Hypertension, North Shore University Hospital and LIJ Medical Center, Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine, Great Neck, NY 11021, United States
Lisa M Rosen, Department of Biostatistics, Feinstein Institute For Medical Research, North Shore University Hospital and LIJ Medical Center, Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine, Manhasset, NY 11030, United States
Ernesto P Molmenti, Department of Surgery, North Shore University Hospital and LIJ Medical Center, Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine, Manhasset, NY 11030, United States
Author contributions: Sachdeva M, Fishbane S and Molmenti EP participated in research design, data analysis, writing of the paper, literature search, and in the performance of the research; Rosen LM participated in research design, data analysis, generation of figures, and writing of the paper; Varghese J participated in research design and writing of the paper.
Institutional review board statement: The study was reviewed and approved by the North Shore University Hospital Institutional Review Board. It was considered exempt.
Clinical trial registration statement: This study was not a clinical trial.
Informed consent statement: This study was neither a clinical trial or a case report and did not require informed consent of human participants. Data was obtained from a national database.
Conflict-of-interest statement: Author declares no conflict of interest.
Data sharing statement: No additional data is available.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Mala Sachdeva, MD, Department of Medicine, Division of Kidney Diseases and Hypertension, North Shore University Hospital and LIJ Medical Center, Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine, 100 Community Drive, 2nd Floor, Great Neck, NY 11021, United States. msachdeva@nshs.edu
Telephone: +1-516-4658200 Fax: +1-516-4658202
Received: March 31, 2015
Peer-review started: April 1, 2015
First decision: June 9, 2015
Revised: July 22, 2015
Accepted: August 4, 2015
Article in press: August 7, 2015
Published online: September 24, 2015
Processing time: 176 Days and 21.2 Hours
Abstract

AIM: To analyze the national trends associated with body mass index (BMI) and living kidney donation.

METHODS: Forty-seven thousand seven hundred and five adult living kidney donors as reported to the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network from 1999 to 2011 were analyzed using their pre-donation BMI. Predictor variables of interest included age, gender, ethnicity, relationship, education status, and transplant region.

RESULTS: Sixteen thousand nine hundred and seventy-one of the living kidney donors were normal weight (35.6%); 19337 were overweight (40.5%); 9007 were mildly obese (18.9%); 1992 were moderate to morbidly obese (4.2%). Overweight and mildly obese kidney donors have increased through time by 12% and 20% every 5 years, respectively (P < 0.05). Donors 35-49 years of age, hispanic males or females and black females, those with high school diploma or general Education Degree, and biologically related or partner/spouses were more likely to be obese.

CONCLUSION: Over the past 13 years, the majority of living kidney donors have spanned the overweight to obese categories. Paralleling the national rise is an increase in overweight and mildly obese kidney donors. A fair number of moderate to morbidly obese living kidney donors are still allowed to donate.

Keywords: Transplantation; Obesity; Donor; Kidney; Living

Core tip: The obesity epidemic is increasing. This study was conducted to analyze the national trends associated with body mass index (BMI) and living kidney donation using the United Network for Organ Sharing/Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network database in the United States. Forty-seven thousand seven hundred and five adult living kidney donors were analyzed according to BMI. Sixty-three point six percent of living kidney donors over the past thirteen years have spanned the overweight to obese categories. The increase in the overweight and mildly obese living kidney donors in our study parallels the national increase in obesity trends. A fair number of moderate to morbidly obese living kidney donors are still allowed to donate. Donors 35-49 years of age, hispanic males or females and black females, those with high school diploma or general Education Degree, and biologically related or partner/spouses were more likely to be obese. Care is advised when allowing donors in this BMI category to donate due to the uncertainty of the long term outcomes. Continued awareness and implementation of programs to limit the obesity crisis are needed.