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Lifestyle behaviors affect cardiovascular risk status in men 1 year after kidney transplantation

Persons with end‐stage renal disease have an accelerated risk for cardiovascular (CV) morbidity and mortality. Unfortunately, their accelerated CV risk persists even after kidney transplantation associated with pretransplant and post‐transplant vascular disease, number of rejections treated with high‐dose steroids, prolonged use of immunosuppressive therapy post‐transplant, effects of comorbid chronic conditions and male gender. Unhealthy, modifiable lifestyle practices often augment their CV risk. The purpose of this study was to examine health‐related lifestyle behaviors and estimate CV risks of men 1 year following kidney transplantation. Using the Healthier People Network Health Risk Appraisal (HPN‐HRA), we examined CV risk characteristics of 34 men (M age=47.3 years) enrolled in an urban, mid‐southern transplant center. Participants were assessed via self‐administered paper‐and‐pencil questionnaires and medical record review provided biological data for analyses. HPN‐HRA software was used to analyze biological and behavioral characteristics to compute CV risk estimates. Data were analyzed using descriptive, inferential and correlational analyses. The majority of participants reported smoke cessation (n=19) or never having smoked (n=8), and consumption of one or less alcoholic drinks per week (n=28). On the other hand, increased risk for heart attack and stroke were associated with advancing age (P<0.0001), white race (P<0.05) and higher systolic blood pressure (P<0.01).While risk for heart attack was associated with current cigarette smoking (P<0.01), risk for stroke was not. Conversely, risk for stroke was associated with higher BMI (P<0.05), risk for heart attack was not. Thus, the study provides evidence that male kidney transplant survivors exhibit a significant number of non‐modifiable and modifiable characteristics that contribute to their posttransplant CV risk.