Prevalence of Musculoskeletal and Metabolic Disorders in Kidney Transplant Recipients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Introduction: Musculoskeletal disorders could be associated with metabolic disorders that are common after kidney transplantation, which could reduce the quality of life of patients. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of both musculoskeletal and metabolic disorders in kidney transplant patients. Methods: MEDLINE, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, EMBASE and Web of Science were searched from their inception up to June 2023. DerSimonian and Laird random-effects method was used to calculate pooled prevalence estimates and their 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results: 21,879 kidney transplant recipients from 38 studies were analysed. The overall proportion of kidney transplant patients with musculoskeletal disorders was 27.2% (95% CI: 18.4–36.0), with low muscle strength (64.5%; 95% CI: 43.1–81.3) being the most common disorder. Otherwise, the overall proportion of kidney transplant patients with metabolic disorders was 37.6% (95% CI: 21.9–53.2), with hypovitaminosis D (81.8%; 95% CI: 67.2–90.8) being the most prevalent disorder. Conclusion: The most common musculoskeletal disorders were low muscle strength, femoral osteopenia, and low muscle mass. Hypovitaminosis D, hyperparathyroidism, and hyperuricemia were also the most common metabolic disorders. These disorders could be associated with poorer quality of life in kidney transplant recipients. Systematic Review Registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/, identifier [CRD42023449171]. Copyright © 2024 Herreros-Carretero, Berlanga-Macías, Martínez-Vizcaíno, Torres-Costoso, Pascual-Morena, Hernández-Castillejo, Sequí-Domínguez and Garrido-Miguel.