Vitamin D deficiency is an independent risk factor for urinary tract infections after renal transplants

Young Eun Kwon, Hyunwook Kim, Hyung Jung Oh, Jung Tak Park, Seung Hyeok Han, Dong Ryeol Ryu, Tae Hyun Yoo, Shin Wook Kang

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25 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Vitamin D deficiency is frequently found in patients with renal transplants (RTxs). Because vitamin D plays indispensable roles in the immune system, there may be an association between vitamin D deficiency and infection in these patients, but this has not been fully elucidated. Therefore, this study investigated the impact of pre-RTx vitamin D deficiency on urinary tract infection (UTI) development after RTx. We measured 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 (25(OH)D3) levels in 410 patients 2 weeks before they underwent RTx. Vitamin D deficiency was defined as 25(OH)D3 <10ng/mL. The primary outcome was UTI occurrence after RTx. Cox proportional hazard analysis determined whether vitamin D deficiency was independently associated with UTI. The mean 25(OH)D3 level was 12.8±6.9ng/mL, and 171 patients (41.7%) were vitamin D deficient. During a median follow-up duration of 7.3 years, the UTI incidence was significantly higher in vitamin D-deficient patients (52 patients, 30.4%) compared with vitamin D-nondeficient patients (40 patients, 16.7%) (P=0.001). Moreover, multivariate Cox proportional hazard analysis showed that vitamin D deficiency was an independent predictor of UTI after RTx (hazard ratio 1.81, 95% confidence interval 1.11-2.97, P=0.02). Vitamin D deficiency was an independent risk factor for UTI after RTx; hence, determining 25(OH)D3 levels might help to predict infectious complications after RTx.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)e594
JournalMedicine (United States)
Volume94
Issue number9
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2015 Mar 7

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2015 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Medicine(all)

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