Frailty is associated with dialysis duration before transplantation in kidney transplant recipients: A Japanese single-center cross-sectional study

Objectives To investigate the prevalence of frailty, and the relationship of frailty based on the Kihon Checklist criteria with dialysis duration before transplantation and time after transplantation in kidney transplant recipients. Methods This study was a single-center, cross-sectional investigation carried out on kidney transplant recipients. To examine the association between the total Kihon Checklist score with time after transplant and dialysis duration before transplant, the multivariable proportional odds logistic regression model was used with adjustment for age, sex, body mass index, estimated glomerular filtration rate and serum albumin levels. Results Out of 205 kidney transplant recipients enrolled in this study, frail, prefrail and robust recipients accounted for 11.2%, 26.8% and 62.0%, respectively. Dialysis duration before transplantation was associated with frailty, but time after transplant was not associated with frailty. Conclusions The prevalence of frailty in kidney transplant recipients is approximately 11%, and it is associated with the duration of pretransplant dialysis. These findings suggest that a shorter dialysis duration might be beneficial for preventing frailty in kidney transplant recipients.