title: Cardiovascular risk factors in 116 patients 5 years or more after liver transplantation.
abstract: We assessed the cardiovascular risk factors (CVRFs) in 116 stable liver transplant patients surviving for 5 years or more (median: 102 months). The prevalence of smokers was 29.3%, hypertension 49.1%, obesity 22.4%, hypercholesterolemia 34.5%, hypertriglyceridemia 11.2%, and hyperhomocysteinemia 57.8%. Diabetes was found in 21.5% of the patients, being more frequent in patients with hepatitis-C-virus infection (31.8% vs 15.3%; P=0.03). Patients on cyclosporine therapy had a higher prevalence of hypertension, hypercholesterolemia and hyperhomocysteinemia than those treated with tacrolimus. Multivariate analysis showed only an association between cyclosporine therapy and cholesterol concentrations (odds ratio:1.02; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.00-1.03; P=0.01). The prevalence of hypertension, diabetes, hypercholesterolemia and hypertriglyceridemia was lower at the time of the study than at 1 and 3 years after transplantation ( P<0.05), probably related to steroid withdrawal. Comparing 87 patients' CVRFs with the general Spanish population, we found that the age-gender standardized prevalence ratio was not different: smoking 1.46 (95% CI: 0.88-1.76), obesity 1.16 (95% CI: 0.60-1.44), hypertension 1.55 (95% CI: 0.98-1.81), and hypercholesterolemia 0.64 (95%CI: 0.35-1.90). We conclude that the prevalence of CVRFs in liver transplant patients after 5 years or more is lower that found in the first years after the transplantation, and no different from that found within the Spanish population.
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Medicina Interna, Hospital Universitario 12 de Octubre, Ctra. Andalucia km 5.4, 28041 Madrid, Spain. cfmiranda@inicia.es
authors.forename: Consuelo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fernández-Miranda
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sanz
authors.forename: Angel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: dela Calle
authors.forename: Carmelo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Loinaz
authors.forename: Ramón
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gómez
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Jiménez
authors.forename: Ignacio
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: García
authors.forename: Agustín
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gómez de la Cámara
authors.forename: Enrique
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Moreno
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020138:Hyperhomocysteinemia / Q000453:epidemiology; D006949:Hyperlipidemias / Q000453:epidemiology; D006973:Hypertension / Q000453:epidemiology; D015994:Incidence; D016031:Liver Transplantation; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology; D011184:Postoperative Period; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012907:Smoking; D013997:Time Factors