title: Kidney transplantation in elderly people: the influence of recipient comorbidity and living kidney donors.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine the extent to which donor and recipient characteristics were associated with transplant outcomes in elderly kidney transplant recipients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective review.
  
  
  METHODS
  Single university center.
  
  
  METHODS
  One thousand one hundred two patients, including 266 patients aged 60 and older.
  
  
  METHODS
  Recipient and donor characteristics and patient and graft outcomes.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 1,102 patients included in this study, 266 (25%) were aged 60 and older, and 117 (11%) were aged 67 and older. According to Cox proportional hazards analysis, patient survival was worse in elderly recipients, although the survival outcome in the oldest group (ages 68-86) was comparable with that in their slightly younger peers (ages 61-67). Graft function did not differ according to age. Comorbidity was a significant predictor of patient survival in elderly recipients (hazard ratio (HR)=1.17, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.03-1.34, P=.02) but not in the subset of elderly recipients of living donor kidneys (HR=1.01, 95% CI=0.8-1.3, P=.9).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Older adults can achieve good outcomes with kidney transplantation, although in recipients with significant comorbid illness, careful donor selection and selective use of living donors may be vital to achieving good outcomes.
authors: Department of Medicine, Renal-Electrolyte Division, Thomas E. Starzl Transplantation Institute, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. wucm@upmc.edu
authors: Christine
authors: C
authors: Wu
authors: Ron
authors: R
authors: Shapiro
authors: Henkie
authors: H
authors: Tan
authors: Amit
authors: A
authors: Basu
authors: Cynthia
authors: C
authors: Smetanka
authors: Claire
authors: C
authors: Morgan
authors: Nirav
authors: N
authors: Shah
authors: Jerry
authors: J
authors: McCauley
authors: Mark
authors: M
authors: Unruh
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D015897:Comorbidity; D005260:Female; D006085:Graft Survival; D006801:Humans; D016030:Kidney Transplantation; D019520:Living Donors; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D016019:Survival Analysis