Metabolic syndrome and coronary artery calcification in renal transplant recipients

Background. Coronary artery calcification (CAC) and metabolic syndrome (MS) have been associated with increased cardiovascular risk. The study objective was to examine the association of MS with CAC presence and progression in renal transplant recipients. Methods. We measured the CAC progression in asymptomatic recipients who had no prior history of coronary artery disease. Results. MS was common (55.4%). Median CAC scores were 0, 33.1, 98, and 261.9 for patients with one, two, three, and four or more positive components of the MS, respectively. Severe CAC scores were more common in recipients with MS (P=0.04). Although recipients with MS had higher mean CAC scores at baseline and significant CAC progression (483 [590.6] vs. 619 [813.81, P=0.01), MS was not an independent predictor of annualized rate of CAC change in a multivariate model. Conclusion. Future studies to evaluate if MS treatment improves cardiovascular outcomes are imperative.