COVID-19-pandemic resulted in significant weight gain in teenagers after kidney transplantation

ABSTRACT

Objectives: The COVID-19 pandemic has led to widespread change of lifestyle, restrictions of social relations and activities. The required lockdowns caused modifications in eating habits, physical activities and psychological distress. This not only has consequences for adults, but also for children and adolescents. The COVID-19 pandemic has been linked to significant weight gain in the general population, but its impact on children and adolescents after kidney transplantation (KTx) is unknown. Methods: We retrospectively evaluated body mass index SD scores (BMI-SDS) between September 2019 and September 2021 in 132 pediatric KTx patients followed up at three German pediatric nephrology centers. The patients were categorized according to age (0 - 11.9 y vs. 12 - 18 y) and sex (female vs. male) in four groups. Data were assessed by a linear mixed model approach. Results: There was no significant change in BMI-SDS in children (0 - 11.9 y), irrespectively of sex (boys -0.11 SDS, p = 0.22;girls 0.05 SDS, p = 0.49). By contrast, a significant increase in BMI-SDS was noted in both male (0.24 SDS) and female (0.20 SDS) teenagers (each p < 0.05). In addition, the proportion of obese teenagers tended to increase from 12 to 19% (p = 0.08). Conclusion: The COVID19 pandemic was associated with a significant increase in standardized BMI values in adolescents but not in children after KTx. This may further increase the cardiovascular risk in the former population.