Quality of life in Japanese patients with type 1 diabetes and end-stage renal disease undergoing simultaneous pancreas and kidney transplantation

We conducted this cross-sectional study to assess quality of life (QOL) in Japanese patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) and end-stage renal disease (ESRD) undergoing simultaneous pancreas and kidney transplantation (SPK). Japanese patients with T1DM without diabetic nephropathy ( N = 10), and those undergoing chronic dialysis ( N = 52), kidney transplantation alone (KTA, N = 25), and SPK ( N = 16) were studied. Comprehensive health-related QOL was assessed using the Short Form 36 version 2 (SF-36v2). Emotional functioning in diabetes was measured by the Problem Area In Diabetes (PAID) scale. Severity of impaired hypoglycemic awareness was assessed using the Clarke hypoglycemic score. SPK patients had significantly higher (or tended to have higher) subscale and summary SF-36 scores than dialysis patients and KTA patients. PAID scores were significantly lower in SPK patients than in dialysis patients and KTA patients. Clarke hypoglycemic scores were also significantly lower in SPK patients than dialysis patients. In KTA and dialysis patients, there were no significant differences in the SF-36 subscale/summary scores, PAID scores, or Clarke hypoglycemic scores. In conclusion, QOL for Japanese patients receiving SPK may be superior to that of dialysis patients and KTA patients. Whether SPK actually improves QOL needs to be clarified in longitudinal studies.