| Summary: | Sleep disordered breathing (SDB), as defined by the Apnea Hypopnea Index (AHI), is a highly prevalent disturbance in end stage kidney disease. SDB improves early on after renal transplantation but long-term changes in AHI in these patients have not been studied. We studied the long-term changes in AHI in a series of 221 renal transplant patients (mean age: 47 ± 12 years; 70% males) over a median follow up of 35 months. Data analysis was made by the generalized estimating equations method (GEE). On longitudinal observation, the median AHI rose from 1.8 (Interquartile range: 0.6–5.0) to 2.9 (IQR: 1.0–6.6) and to 3.6 (IQR: 1.7–10.4) at the second and third visit, respectively (<i>p</i> = 0.009 by the GEE model and the proportion of patients with moderate to severe SDB rose from 8% to 20%. Longitudinal changes in minimum oxygen saturation (minSaO<sub>2</sub>) mirrored those in the AHI. In adjusted analyses, repeated measurements of BMI (<i>p</i> < 0.009) emerged as the strongest independent longitudinal correlate of AHI and MinSaO<sub>2</sub>. The AHI worsens over time in renal transplant patients and longitudinal changes of this biomarker are directly related to simultaneous changes in BMI. Overweight/obesity, a potentially modifiable risk factor, is an important factor underlying the risk of SDB in this population.
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