TCF7L2 Polymorphism Associates with New-Onset Diabetes after Transplantation

New-onset diabetes after transplantation (NODAT) is a serious and frequent complication in transplant recipients. Whether NODAT shares the same susceptibility genes as type 2 diabetes is unknown. In this multicenter study, we genotyped 1076 white patients without diabetes at transplantation for 11 polymorphisms that associate with type 2 diabetes. We defined NODAT as a fasting plasma glucose >= 126 mg/dl on at least two occasions or de novo hypoglycemic therapy. We compared clinical and genetic factors between patients who developed NODAT within 6 mo of transplantation (n = 118; incidence 11 %) and patients without diabetes (n = 958). In multivariate analysis, NODAT significantly associated with the following characteristics: TCF7L2 polymorphism (odds ratio [OR] 1.60 per each T allele; P = 0.002), age (OR 1.03 per year; P <0.001), body mass index at transplantation (OR 1.09 per unit; P <0.001), tacrolimus use (OR 2.26; P <0.001), and the occurrence of a corticoid-treated acute rejection episode (OR 2.78; P <0.001). In summary, our data show that the TCF7L2 rs7903146 polymorphism, a known risk factor for type 2 diabetes in the general population, also associates with NODAT.