Purpose: The feasibility of pancreas transplantation (PT) in older recipients remains a matter of debate. We examined the influence of recipient age on PT outcomes and identified the prognostic factors for older recipients.
Methods: We compared the outcomes of PT in recipients aged < 50 years (younger group; n = 285) with those in recipients aged ≥ 50 years (older group; n = 94). Prognostic factors in the older group were analyzed by a logistic regression model and the influence of recipient age on survival outcomes were analyzed using propensity score matching.
Results: The patient survival rate was significantly worse in the older group (P < 0.001). Patient death from infection or/and multiple organ failure or cardiac/cerebrovascular events was also more frequent in the older group than in the younger group (P = 0.012 and P = 0.045, respectively). A longer duration of diabetes was an independent risk factor of 1-year mortality in the older group. In a propensity score-matched comparison, the older recipients (n = 77) had significantly poorer survival than the younger recipients (n = 77) (P = 0.026).
Conclusions: PT should be considered with appropriate caution, especially for older recipients with a long duration of diabetes.
Keywords: Elderly recipient; Pancreas transplantation; Patient survival; Recipient age.
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