Introduction: An increased midnight cortisol (MC) has been described in end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) and type 1 diabetes (T1D). Lower circulating levels of the cytokine soluble tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-like weak inducer of apoptosis (sTWEAK) have been found in T1D and ESKD and associated with cardiovascular (CV) events in the latter. We aimed to study MC and sTWEAK in simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplant (SPKT) recipients, and the association of these markers with CV risk factors and transplant outcomes.
Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study including subjects with T1D who received a first SPKT between 2008 and 2020. MC and sTWEAK at baseline were correlated with CV risk factors and evolution 1 year after SPKT.
Results: We included 29 subjects (58.6% women, mean age 43.5 ± 7.5 years, diabetes duration 31.9 ± 9.4 years). Systolic blood pressure (SBP) increased directly with MC quartiles, despite similar hypertension prevalence (p < 0.05). At 1 year, antihypertensive treatment was deintensified in those in lower MC quartiles (p < 0.05). Diabetic neuropathy prevalence decreased progressively in higher cortisol quartiles (p for trend = 0.005). Low MC was associated with delayed kidney graft function (p for trend = 0.044), and high sTWEAK with kidney graft rejection (p for trend = 0.018). In multivariate analyses, MC (standardized-β 0.505, p = 0.004) and age (standardized-β - 0.460, p = 0.040) were independently correlated with SBP, and MC was independently associated with the presence of diabetic neuropathy (OR 0.633, 95% CI 0.425-0.944, p = 0.025), adjusted for confounders.
Conclusions: In this exploratory study, lower MC was associated with a lower baseline SBP, an improvement of antihypertensive treatment 1 year after transplant, and a higher diabetic neuropathy prevalence in SPKT recipients.
Keywords: Blood pressure; Chronic kidney disease; Diabetic neuropathy; Midnight cortisol; Simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplantation; Type 1 diabetes; sTWEAK.
© 2023. The Author(s).