Table 1.
Baseline characteristics
| All | ML appearance (−) | ML appearance (+) | P value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of recipients, n | 132 | 94 | 38 | |
| Male sex, n (%) | 96 (73) | 64 (68) | 32 (84) | 0.060 |
| Recipient age, years | 54.2 ± 12.6 | 52.4 ± 1.4 | 58.6 ± 1.6 | 0.004 |
| Donor age, years | 31.8 ± 13.6 | 28.5 ± 12.7 | 40.5 ± 12.2 | <0.001 |
| Allograft ischaemic time, min | 173 ± 49 | 172 ± 53 | 174 ± 37 | 0.855 |
| Cytomegalovirus viremia, n (%) | 15 (11) | 10 (11) | 5 (13) | 0.680 |
| Treatment episode for rejection, n (%) | 17 (13) | 11 (12) | 6 (16) | 0.403 |
| Time since transplant, years | 3.0 (0.2–7.3) | 2.0 (0.2–5.3) | 6.5 (2.0–9.2) | <0.001 |
| Pre-transplant diagnosis, n (%) | ||||
| Ischaemic cardiomyopathy | 33 (25) | 19 (20) | 14 (37) | 0.122 |
| Non-ischaemic cardiomyopathy | 79 (60) | 59 (63) | 20 (53) | |
| Others | 20 (15) | 16 (17) | 4 (11) | |
| Comorbidities | ||||
| Body mass index, kg/m2 | 26.9 ± 5.3 | 28.5 ± 5.7 | 26.3 ± 5.0 | 0.042 |
| Diabetes mellitus, n (%) | 38 (29) | 23 (24) | 15 (39) | 0.085 |
| Fasting glucose, mg/dL | 107 ± 25 | 108 ± 41 | 113 ± 26 | 0.387 |
| Current smoking, n (%) | 5 (4) | 5 (5) | 0 (0) | 0.147 |
| Hypertension, n (%) | 112 (85) | 75 (78) | 37 (97) | 0.014 |
| SBP (mmHg) | 122 ± 15 | 121 ± 14 | 124 ± 16 | 0.287 |
| DBP (mmHg) | 77 ± 10 | 77 ± 10 | 77 ± 10 | 0.934 |
| Dyslipidemia, n (%) | 109 (83) | 74 (80) | 35 (92) | 0.082 |
| Total cholesterol, mg/dL | 194 ± 49 | 199 ± 51 | 181 ± 40 | 0.029 |
| Triglyceride, mg/dL | 164 ± 78 | 164 ± 82 | 165 ± 67 | 0.969 |
| HDL cholesterol, mg/dL | 56 ± 19 | 58 ± 19 | 50 ± 15 | 0.014 |
| LDL cholesterol, mg/dL | 106 ± 38 | 109 ± 39 | 98 ± 35 | 0.116 |
| Serum creatinine, mg/dL | 1.5 ± 0.8 | 1.5 ± 0.9 | 1.4 ± 0.3 | 0.729 |
| GFR, mL/min/1.73m2 | 53 ± 16 | 54 ± 17 | 52 ± 15 | 0.558 |
| Medication | ||||
| Aspirin, n (%) | 42 (32) | 23 (24) | 19 (50) | 0.004 |
| ACE inhibitors, n (%) | 53 (40) | 35 (37) | 18 (47) | 0.282 |
| Calcium channel blocker, n (%) | 34 (26) | 28 (30) | 6 (16) | 0.096 |
| Beta blocker, n (%) | 24 (18) | 14 (15) | 10 (26) | 0.123 |
| Statin, n (%) | 115 (87) | 81 (86) | 34 (89) | 0.608 |
| Sirolimus, n (%) | 52 (39) | 36 (38) | 16 (42) | 0.685 |
| Cyclosporine, n (%) | 68 (52) | 47 (50) | 21 (55) | 0.584 |
| Tacrolimus, n (%) | 23 (17) | 20 (21) | 3 (8) | 0.067 |
| Azathioprine, n (%) | 35 (27) | 23 (24) | 12 (32) | 0.402 |
| Mycophenolate mofetil, n (%) | 89 (67) | 66 (70) | 23 (61) | 0.282 |
Data are expressed as mean ± SD, median (interquartile range) or n (%).
ACE indicates angiotensin-converting enzyme; DBP, diastolic blood pressure; GFR, glomerular filtration rate; HDL, high-density lipoprotein; LDL, low-density lipoprotein; ML, multilayer; and SBP, systolic blood pressure.