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Adult outcomes of childhood kidney replacement therapy in Europe from 2008 to 2019 : an ERA Registry study

Montez de Sousa, Iris R. ; Bonthuis, Marjolein ; Kramer, Anneke ; Ordoñez, Flor Angel ; de la Cerda Ojeda, Francisco ; Rydell, Helena ; Helve, Jaakko ; Groothoff, Jaap W. ; Hommel, Kristine and Buchwinkler, Lukas , et al. (2025) In Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation 40(4). p.707-719
Abstract

Background. Young adults starting kidney replacement therapy (KRT) during childhood and reaching their 18th birthday (i.e. adult survivors of childhood KRT) form a challenging population of interest to nephrologists treating adults, as during this period there will be a transition to adult renal centres. Nonetheless, few studies have focused on the epidemiology of KRT in this group. We aimed to provide an update on these patients’ characteristics, treatment history, and graft and patient survival, to report their 5-year prognosis and expected remaining lifetime. Methods. Data on KRT patients reaching their 18th birthday in 2008–19 were collected from 21 European countries/regions providing individual patient data to the European Renal... (More)

Background. Young adults starting kidney replacement therapy (KRT) during childhood and reaching their 18th birthday (i.e. adult survivors of childhood KRT) form a challenging population of interest to nephrologists treating adults, as during this period there will be a transition to adult renal centres. Nonetheless, few studies have focused on the epidemiology of KRT in this group. We aimed to provide an update on these patients’ characteristics, treatment history, and graft and patient survival, to report their 5-year prognosis and expected remaining lifetime. Methods. Data on KRT patients reaching their 18th birthday in 2008–19 were collected from 21 European countries/regions providing individual patient data to the European Renal Association (ERA) Registry. Patient characteristics and treatment trajectories were examined before and after turning 18 years old. Kaplan–Meier and Cox proportional hazards regression were used for patient and graft survival analyses. Results. In total, 2944 patients were included. The proportion of adult survivors initiating KRT at a very young age (0–4 years) and undergoing pre-emptive kidney transplantation increased. Unadjusted 5-year patient survival was 96.9% [95% confidence interval (CI) 96.2–97.5]. Dialysis patients had a higher risk of death than kidney transplant recipients [adjusted hazard ratio 5.44 (95% CI 3.34–8.86)]. Between ages 18 and 23 years, about 21% of the adult survivors lost their kidney transplant and 34% of the dialysis patients continued this treatment. Compared with the general population, life expectancy for 18-year-old kidney transplant and dialysis patients was 17 and 40 years shorter, respectively. Conclusion. Life expectancy of 18-year-old kidney transplant recipients was lower compared with the general population, yet having a functioning kidney graft at age 18 years resulted in better outcomes than being on dialysis. Nevertheless, between ages 18 and 23 years, about one-fifth of the kidney grafts failed and one-third of the patients remained on dialysis.

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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
kidney replacement therapy, kidney transplantation, paediatric nephrology, transition, young adults
in
Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation
volume
40
issue
4
pages
13 pages
publisher
Oxford University Press
external identifiers
  • scopus:105001688267
  • pmid:39182157
ISSN
0931-0509
DOI
10.1093/ndt/gfae189
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the ERA.
id
605109aa-c9fb-464c-8a92-b9e1a0208bcb
date added to LUP
2025-08-22 15:21:31
date last changed
2025-09-05 16:33:29
@article{605109aa-c9fb-464c-8a92-b9e1a0208bcb,
  abstract     = {{<p>Background. Young adults starting kidney replacement therapy (KRT) during childhood and reaching their 18th birthday (i.e. adult survivors of childhood KRT) form a challenging population of interest to nephrologists treating adults, as during this period there will be a transition to adult renal centres. Nonetheless, few studies have focused on the epidemiology of KRT in this group. We aimed to provide an update on these patients’ characteristics, treatment history, and graft and patient survival, to report their 5-year prognosis and expected remaining lifetime. Methods. Data on KRT patients reaching their 18th birthday in 2008–19 were collected from 21 European countries/regions providing individual patient data to the European Renal Association (ERA) Registry. Patient characteristics and treatment trajectories were examined before and after turning 18 years old. Kaplan–Meier and Cox proportional hazards regression were used for patient and graft survival analyses. Results. In total, 2944 patients were included. The proportion of adult survivors initiating KRT at a very young age (0–4 years) and undergoing pre-emptive kidney transplantation increased. Unadjusted 5-year patient survival was 96.9% [95% confidence interval (CI) 96.2–97.5]. Dialysis patients had a higher risk of death than kidney transplant recipients [adjusted hazard ratio 5.44 (95% CI 3.34–8.86)]. Between ages 18 and 23 years, about 21% of the adult survivors lost their kidney transplant and 34% of the dialysis patients continued this treatment. Compared with the general population, life expectancy for 18-year-old kidney transplant and dialysis patients was 17 and 40 years shorter, respectively. Conclusion. Life expectancy of 18-year-old kidney transplant recipients was lower compared with the general population, yet having a functioning kidney graft at age 18 years resulted in better outcomes than being on dialysis. Nevertheless, between ages 18 and 23 years, about one-fifth of the kidney grafts failed and one-third of the patients remained on dialysis.</p>}},
  author       = {{Montez de Sousa, Iris R. and Bonthuis, Marjolein and Kramer, Anneke and Ordoñez, Flor Angel and de la Cerda Ojeda, Francisco and Rydell, Helena and Helve, Jaakko and Groothoff, Jaap W. and Hommel, Kristine and Buchwinkler, Lukas and Segelmark, Mårten and Arici, Mustafa and Palsson, Runolfur and Bell, Samira and Trujillo-Alemán, Sara and Bakkaloglu, Sevcan A. and Sørensen, Søren S. and Vila, Anna and Ortiz, Alberto and Stel, Vianda S. and Jager, Kitty J.}},
  issn         = {{0931-0509}},
  keywords     = {{kidney replacement therapy; kidney transplantation; paediatric nephrology; transition; young adults}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{04}},
  number       = {{4}},
  pages        = {{707--719}},
  publisher    = {{Oxford University Press}},
  series       = {{Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation}},
  title        = {{Adult outcomes of childhood kidney replacement therapy in Europe from 2008 to 2019 : an ERA Registry study}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ndt/gfae189}},
  doi          = {{10.1093/ndt/gfae189}},
  volume       = {{40}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}