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Comparative Study
. 2024 Jul;37(6):1661-1668.
doi: 10.1007/s40620-024-02004-8. Epub 2024 Jul 11.

Cognitive profile of kidney transplant patients and impact of deceased vs. living donor transplantation

Johanna Marie Doerr  1 , Martin Juenemann  2 , Anna Becker  3 , Christian Nahrgang  3 , Lucy Rainer  3 , Juliane Liese  4 , Andreas Hecker  4 , Martin Wolter  3 , Rolf Weimer  3 , Hristos Karakizlis  3
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Cognitive profile of kidney transplant patients and impact of deceased vs. living donor transplantation

Johanna Marie Doerr et al. J Nephrol. 2024 Jul.

Abstract

Background: It is important to learn more about the prevalence, severity and characteristics (i.e., which cognitive abilities are especially affected) of cognitive impairment in kidney transplant patients. Furthermore, the impact of living vs. deceased donor renal transplantation on cognitive outcome in this patient group needs further studies.

Methods: Fifty-nine patients (43 men, age 55 ± 13 years) who received a deceased donor or living donor kidney transplant, completed a comprehensive neuropsychological test assessment. Neuropsychological tests explored the cognitive domains of verbal and visual memory, attention, and executive functions.

Results: Fifteen percent of the patients had mild, 25% moderate, and 15% severe cognitive impairment. The level of domain-specific cognitive deficit differed between verbal memory, attention, and executive functions (χ2(2) = 7.11, p = 0.029). On average, patients showed the highest deficit in executive functions, and the lowest deficit in verbal memory. Patients who received a kidney graft from a deceased donor were more likely to have a cognitive impairment than those who received a kidney graft from a living donor (OR = 3.03, 95% CI [0.99,9.32], Wald χ2(1) = 3.74, p = 0.053). This effect was independent of time on dialysis as well as of creatinine levels, or creatinine clearance.

Conclusions: Our results show that in kidney transplant patients with cognitive impairment, the cognitive domain of executive functions is the most affected one. This might be detrimental for quality of life. The fact that patients who received living donor kidneys seem to do better in terms of cognition than patients with deceased donor kidneys deserves more attention in future research.

Keywords: Chronic kidney disease; Cognitive performance; Cognitive profile; Kidney transplantation.

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Conflict of interest statement

Each author certifies that he or she, or a member of their immediate family, has no commercial associations (e.g., consultancies, stock ownership, equity interest, patent/licensing arrangements, etc.) that might pose a conflict of interest in connection with the contents of the submitted article. The results presented in this article have not been published previously in whole or part, except in abstract format.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Proportion of patients per degree of cognitive impairment
Fig.2
Fig.2
Number of patients with deficit per cognitive domain in patients with any cognitive impairment (n = 33)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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