Background: Carotid atherosclerosis is one of the main cerebrovascular
complications in kidney transplant recipients (KTRs). We analyzed the
relationships between carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) and the occurrence and
characteristics of carotid plaques in a cohort of KTRs. Methods: In 500
KTRs (aged 49.9 12.0 years), IMT was measured and carotid plaques were
semi-qualitatively assessed. Concomitantly, biochemical and hormonal
inflammatory, vascular and calcium-phosphate metabolism parameters were also
assessed. Results: In 10.2% of patients, a side-to-side IMT difference
0.1 mm was observed, whereas 26.8% of patients with no plaques in one carotid
artery had at least one contralateral calcified plaque. Multivariate logistic
regression analysis revealed that age (r = 0.409; p
0.001), male sex (r = 0.199; p 0.001), and coronary
artery disease (r = 0.139; p 0.01) independently
increased IMT (R = 0.25). For the occurrence of calcified carotid plaques,
age (r = 0.544; p 0.001), male gender (r =
0.127; p 0.05), and the duration of renal insufficiency prior to
transplantation (r = 0.235; p 0.001) were confirmed as
independent variables. Conclusions: Substantial side-to-side differences
in IMT values and carotid plaques distribution are present in a large percentage
of stable KTRs. In addition, there are different clinical risk factors profiles
associated with IMT and the presence of calcified plaques. Vascular and
calcium-phosphate metabolism biomarkers were not associated with any carotid
atherosclerosis characteristics.