Objectives: New-onset diabetes after transplant is a well-recognized complication of solid-organ transplant. The true incidence of this complication in Sudan is not known. The aim of this study was to define the prevalence of new-onset diabetes after transplant in a Sudanese renal transplant population and to identify the contributing risk factors.
Materials and methods: Fifty-nine patients who underwent living-donor related kidney transplant and who were followed for 2 years were included in this pilot study. Only patients who were not diabetic before transplant were included. Patients who developed new-onset diabetes after transplant were compared with those who did not develop type 2 diabetes mellitus. The variables analyzed were age, sex, body mass index, family history of type 2 diabetes mellitus, and interval between time of transplant and onset of diabetes.
Results: Five patients (5/58) developed diabetes after transplant (8.62%). There was no association between new-onset diabetes after transplant and age, sex, and body mass index. However, there was a strong association between family history of diabetes and new-onset diabetes after transplant. The mean duration for developing new-onset diabetes after transplant was 10 months posttransplant. Patients in the new-onset diabetes after transplant group had no graft loss or deterioration in graft function compared with those who did not develop diabetes.
Conclusions: The prevalence of new-onset diabetes after transplant in our studied Sudanese population was found to be < 10%. There was no association between new-onset diabetes after transplant and age, sex, and body mass index. However, there was a significant association with family history of diabetes mellitus.