Why is diabetes a problem after kidney transplantation?
There are several reasons why diabetes can be a problem after a transplant. • If someone has diabetes before a transplant, when they are on dialysis, it’s very unusual for the diabetes to go away. Indeed, it often gets harder to control. • Some of the drugs given to keep the transplant working – the anti-rejection drugs – can cause diabetes as a side effect. Prednisolone (a steroid), cyclosporin and tacrolimus can all cause diabetes. These drugs are important in transplantation and research has not yet found better ones. Therefore, even if one of these drugs causes diabetes, it is not usually possible to come off them completely. • Diabetes is very common in the general population. As many as 30% (one in three) of people who are elderly and overweight have diabetes, even though this is often mild. Therefore someone could develop diabetes, even though it is not caused by their transplant. • People may also be at extra risk of developing diabetes after a kidney transplant if they are of
