Background: The causative role of alcohol consumption in renal disease is controversial, and its effect on renal graft and recipient survival has not been previously studied.
Methods: We analysed the association between pre-transplant [at the time of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) onset] alcohol dependency and renal graft and recipient survival. The United States Renal Data System (USRDS) records of kidney transplant recipients 18 years or older transplanted between 1 January 1995 and 31 December 2002 were examined. We used Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox regression models adjusted for covariates to analyse the association between pre-transplant alcohol dependency and graft and recipient survival.
Results: In an entire study cohort of 60 523, we identified 425 patients with a history of alcohol dependency. Using Cox models, alcohol dependency was found to be associated with increased risk of death-censored graft failure [hazard ratio (HR) 1.38, P < 0.05] and increased risk of transplant recipient death (HR 1.56, P < 0.001). Subgroup analysis demonstrated an association of alcohol-dependency with recipient survival and death-censored graft survival in males (but not in females), and in both white and non-white racial subgroups.
Conclusions: We concluded that alcohol dependency at the time of ESRD onset is a risk factor for renal graft failure and recipient death.