Table 3.
Characteristics of kidney transplant recipients by kidney disease symptom burden at admission for transplantation (n=521)
| Characteristics | Kidney Disease Symptom Burden | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low, n=137 | Medium, n=174 | High, n=107 | Very High, n=103 | |
| Age at evaluation, mean (SD) | 52 (14) | 53 (13) | 54 (13) | 51 (13) |
| Women, n (%) | 55 (40%) | 65 (37%) | 44 (41%) | 37 (36%) |
| Race/ethnicity, n (%) | ||||
| Non-Hispanic White | 64 (47%) | 90 (52%) | 59 (55%) | 58 (56%) |
| Non-Hispanic Black | 56 (41%) | 66 (38%) | 39 (36%) | 36 (35%) |
| Hispanic | 9 (7%) | 7 (4%) | 3 (3%) | 3 (3%) |
| Other | 8 (6%) | 11 (6%) | 6 (6%) | 6 (6%) |
| High school or above, n (%) | 130 (95%) | 170 (98%) | 103 (96%) | 100 (97%) |
| BMI kg/m2, mean (SD) | 27.6 (5.5) | 27.8 (5.4) | 27.6 (5.4) | 27.5 (6.3) |
| Frail, n (%) | 10 (7%) | 20 (12%) | 11 (10%) | 20 (19%) |
| Cognitive impairment, n (%) | 8 (6%) | 6 (4%) | 7 (7%) | 7 (7%) |
| Lower extremity impairment, n (%) | 61 (53%) | 90 (59%) | 49 (51%) | 58 (62%) |
| Functional impairment, n (%) | ||||
| Activities of daily living | 2 (2%) | 3 (2%) | 7 (7%) | 5 (5%) |
| Instrumental activities of daily living | 19 (14%) | 25 (15%) | 18 (18%) | 32 (32%) |
| Comorbidities, n (%) | ||||
| Myocardial infarction | 5 (4%) | 7 (4%) | 8 (8%) | 8 (8%) |
| Peripheral vascular | 4 (3%) | 6 (3%) | 5 (5%) | 5 (5%) |
| Cerebral vascular | 4 (3%) | 6 (4%) | 5 (5%) | 5 (5%) |
| Dementia | 1 (0.7%) | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) |
| Chronic lung disease | 1 (0.7%) | 2 (1%) | 3 (3%) | 2 (2%) |
| Rheumatologic disease | 5 (4%) | 21 (12%) | 9 (9%) | 12 (12%) |
| Peptic ulcer | 7 (5%) | 4 (2%) | 2 (2%) | 3 (3%) |
| Diabetes | 40 (29%) | 49 (28%) | 34 (32%) | 28 (28%) |
| Diabetes with complication | 13 (10%) | 25 (15%) | 15 (14%) | 15 (15%) |
| Moderate/severe liver | 4 (3%) | 5 (3%) | 5 (5%) | 6 (6%) |
| Metastatic cancer | 1 (0.7%) | 1 (0.6%) | 0 (0%) | 2 (2%) |
| Leukemia | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | 1 (1%) |
| Lymphoma | 0 (0%) | 2 (1%) | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) |
| HIV | 3 (2%) | 7 (4%) | 3 (3%) | 1 (1%) |
| Congestive heart failure | 3 (3%) | 13 (10%) | 7 (8%) | 4 (5%) |
| Charlson Comorbidity Index, n (%) | ||||
| 0 | 78 (57%) | 85 (49%) | 53 (50%) | 54 (52%) |
| 1 | 9 (7%) | 18 (10%) | 7 (7%) | 10 (10%) |
| 2 | 26 (19%) | 32 (18%) | 22 (21%) | 11 (11%) |
| 3 | 16 (12%) | 22 (13%) | 13 (12%) | 14 (14%) |
| 4+ | 8 (6%) | 17 (10%) | 12 (11%) | 14 (14%) |
| Dialysis type, n (%) | ||||
| Preemptive transplant | 27 (21%) | 35 (20%) | 19 (18%) | 17 (17%) |
| Hemodialysis | 81 (62%) | 108 (62%) | 65 (63%) | 64 (64%) |
| Peritoneal dialysis | 23 (18%) | 30 (17%) | 19 (18%) | 19 (19%) |
| Months on dialysis, median (IQR) | 28 (4–72) | 23 (4–68) | 29 (6–66) | 30 (7–56) |
| Cause of kidney failure, n (%) | ||||
| Glomerular disease | 36 (26%) | 36 (21%) | 30 (28%) | 22 (21%) |
| Diabetes | 18 (13%) | 26 (15%) | 16 (15%) | 16 (16%) |
| Cystic disease | 16 (12%) | 25 (15%) | 14 (13%) | 10 (10%) |
| Hypertension | 43 (31%) | 58 (34%) | 28 (26%) | 33 (32%) |
| Others | 24 (18%) | 28 (16%) | 19 (18%) | 22 (21%) |
The overall symptom score ranged from zero to 100 points and was on the basis of self-reported burden of individual symptom/problem of kidney disease with five response options ranging from “not at all bothered” to “extremely bothered.” A higher symptom score represents a lower burden. Characteristics were presented by category of symptom burden at admission for transplantation: very high: 0.0–71.0; high: 71.1–81.0; medium: 81.1–91.0; and low: 91.1–100.0. BMI, body mass index; IQR, interquartile range.