Relationships Between Metabolic Syndrome, Microalbuminuria, and C-Reactive Protein in Turkish Kidney Transplant Recipients

Aim. The aims of this study were to report the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MS) in a cohort of Turkish kidney transplant recipients and to define the relationships between MS, microalbuminuria and C-reactive protein (CRP), which are cardiovascular risk factors, in kidney transplant setting. Methods. This cross sectional study included 170 adult renal transplantation recipients with a mean follow-up of 53.1 +/- 49.9 months. The diagnosis of MS was made according to the National Cholesterol Education Program-Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP-ATP III) criteria. Microalbuminuria was defined as a urinary albumin/creatinine ratio of 30-300 mg/g. CRP levels >= 6.0 were classified as high CRP. Results. Mean age was 39.3 +/- 11 years. The prevalence of MS was 45.8% (n = 78). The prevalence of microalbuminuria was not different in patients with MS compared to those without MS (39.7% vs 37%, P = .428). In multivariate logistic regression analyses, systolic blood pressure (SBP) (odds ratio 1.68; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.12-2.52; P = .011) and high fasting glucose (odds ratio 2.82; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.16-6.86; P = .022) were significantly associated with microalbuminuria. When patients with MS and high CRP were compared with patients with normal CRP and without MS, microalbuminuria did not differ between the groups (P = .213). Conclusion. The prevalence of MS in our kidney recipient cohort was found to be increased compared to general population. MS was not related to increased prevalence of microalbuminuria, even when combined with high CRP. Micro albuminuria was associated with elevated SBP and hyperglycemic status.