Cause of End-Stage Renal Disease Is Not a Risk Factor for Cytomegalovirus Infection After Kidney Transplant.

Background: Cytomegalovirus infection (CMV) after kidney transplantation leads to increased morbidity and mortality. Whether the cause of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) influences the risk of CMV infection post-transplant is not known.

Methods: We analyzed data from 2741 adult kidney transplant recipients from January 1993 through December 2014. The causes of ESRD included diabetes mellitus (n = 947), hypertension (n = 442), polycystic kidney disease (n = 549), and glomerulonephritis (GN) (n = 803). The primary outcome was incidence of CMV infection, defined as the first episode of detectable CMV DNA in the blood following transplant.

Results: Three hundred and thirty patients developed a CMV infection over a median follow-up of 4.5 years. Patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) as the cause of ESRD had a higher incidence of CMV infection post-transplant compared to patients with GN (2.37 vs 1.58/100 person-years, P < .005) whereas hypertension (HTN) and autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (PKD) were similar (2.17 and 2.07/100 person-years). DM was associated with a 35% higher risk of CMV infection compared to GN in unadjusted analyses [hazard ratio=1.35 [95% confidence interval 1.02-1.78], P = .04). However, after adjustment for age, the risk of CMV infection was similar in all groups (DM: age-adjusted hazard ratio 1.02 [0.78-1.39]; HTN: 0.96 (0.67-1.36); PKD: 1.08 [0.78-1.48]; compared to GN). The risk of CMV infection increased with age (adjusted hazard ratio=1.32 [1.18-1.47] for every decade of life, P < .001).

Conclusions: Our study demonstrates that the cause of ESRD is not a significant risk factor for CMV infection in kidney transplant recipients once adjusted for age. Future studies are needed to identify risk factors for CMV infection to define patient-centered monitoring and prevention.