Association Between Overweight and Renal Transplant Outcomes: A Meta-Analysis.

OBJECTIVES: Our study aimed to evaluate the effects of being overweight on kidney transplant. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Our study evaluated kidney transplant recipients with body mass index ranging from 25 to 30 kg/m² versus patients with body mass index ranging from 18.5 to 29.9 kg/m², who were identified through PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library searches up to October 2015. Outcomes analyzed included delayed graft function, acute rejection, graft loss, and patient survival. Furthermore, sensitivity analysis and funnel plots were conducted to evaluate the strength of our meta-analysis. RESULTS: Eight studies were included in the meta-analysis. No association between being overweight and kidney transplant outcomes, including delayed graft function (risk ratio of 0.99; 95% confidence interval, 0.73-1.35), acute rejection (risk ratio of 1.11;95% confidence interval, 0.88-1.40), graft loss (risk ratio of 1.10; 95% confidence interval, 0.86-1.39), and patient survival (risk ratio of 0.98; 95% confidence interval, 0.94-1.01) was found. Significant heterogeneity was calculated among studies investigating the relation between delayed graft function and being overweight. However, sensitivity analysis and funnel plots demonstrated that the results were stable. CONCLUSIONS: The meta-analysis results suggested that overweight patients and patients with normal weight have similar outcomes after kidney transplant. However, for Chinese individuals, the conclusion should be further verified by additional studies.