Weight Loss Intentionality and Frailty are Associated with Pre–Kidney Transplant Outcomes
Authors: Ghildayal Nidhi , Hong Jingyao , Liu Yi , Li Yiting , Cockey Samuel G. , Ali Nicole M. , Mathur Aarti , Orandi Babak , Segev Dorry L. , McAdams-DeMarco Mara 
Published: December 2024

Key Points

In frail kidney transplant (KT) candidates with obesity, unintentional weight loss preceding KT evaluation is associated with lower chance of listing.

In frail candidates with obesity, both unintentional and intentional weight loss is associated with higher waitlist mortality.

Results suggest that in frail candidates with obesity, careful supervision of weight loss prior to KT should be considered, emphasizing strategies to preserve muscle mass and function.

Background

Unintentional weight loss, a hallmark of frailty, predicts worse post–kidney transplantation (KT) outcomes. However, weight loss in candidates with obesity is often recommended to enhance transplant eligibility. We tested whether pre-evaluation weight change is associated with listing/waitlist mortality, considering intentionality and frailty.

Methods

We leveraged data on body mass index, weight loss intentionality (1 year before evaluation and at evaluation), and frailty (four-component Physical Frailty Phenotype at evaluation) for 1361 candidates (895 listed) with obesity (body mass index ≥30 kg/m2) enrolled in a prospective multicenter cohort study. We estimated the association between pre-evaluation weight change (stable, gain, unintentional/intentional loss) with chance of listing/waitlist mortality using Cox proportional hazards/competing-risks models.

Results

Among candidates with obesity, 48% had stable weight, 17% had weight gain, 16% had unintentional weight loss, and 20% had intentional weight loss over the year before evaluation. Among frail candidates with obesity, stable weight was associated with a 27% lower chance of listing (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 0.73; 95% confidence intervals [CI], 0.55 to 0.96), weight gain with a 47% lower chance of listing (aHR, 0.53; 95% CI, 0.34 to 0.80), and unintentional weight loss with a 48% lower chance of listing (aHR, 0.52; 95% CI, 0.32 to 0.84) compared with nonfrail candidates with stable weight. However, in frail candidates with obesity, intentional weight loss was not associated with a significantly lower chance of listing compared with nonfrail candidates with stable weight. In addition, among frail candidates with obesity, stable weight (adjusted subhazard ratio [aSHR], 1.72; 95% CI, 1.01 to 2.90), unintentional weight loss (aSHR, 2.78; 95% CI, 1.23 to 6.27), and intentional weight loss (aSHR, 2.26; 95% CI, 1.05 to 4.85) were associated with higher waitlist mortality compared with nonfrail candidates with stable weight. Among nonfrail candidates, no associations were observed for weight change and frailty status with either chance of listing or waitlist mortality.

Conclusions

Among frail candidates with obesity, unintentional pre-KT weight loss is associated with a lower chance of listing; however, any weight loss is associated with higher waitlist mortality. Our findings suggest that frail candidates with obesity may benefit from clinician supervision of pre-KT weight loss.