Purpose: Despite the success of live donor kidney transplantation as an optimal treatment for ESRD, some living kidney donors may be at increased risk of developing hypertension (HTN). Among living donors who develop HTN, little is known about potential racial/ethnic differences in HTN self-care behaviors (e.g., healthy diet, physical exercise, and medication adherence).

Methods: We conducted a retrospective study among adults who underwent live kidney donation between 1968 and 2015 at 6 US-based transplant centers. We ascertained data from patient medical records and phone surveys. Among donors who developed HTN, we used logistic regression to examine associations between race/ethnicity and self-care behaviors.

Results: The study included a total of 2128 living kidney donors with 35.4% male, 81.8% White, 13.1% Black, and mean age 45.3 years. Overall, 287 (16.5%) White and 72 (25.8%) Black donors developed HTN. (Figure 1) Black donors with HTN were equally as likely as White donors to report being on a diet to control their blood pressure (OR: 1.97, 95% CI: 0.90-4.34, p= 0.09). Black donors with HTN were also equally as likely as White donors to report that there were days when they did not take their blood pressure medication (OR: 1.40, 95% CI: 0.51-3.88, p= 0.5), and equally as likely to report that they felt stressed because of daily hassles or personal problems in their lives (OR: 1.04, 95% CI: 0.47-2.32, p= 0.9).

Conclusions: We found no substantial racial/ethnic differences in reported self-care behaviors among adult living kidney donors who later developed hypertension.

CITATION INFORMATION: Johnson M., Purnell T., Luo X., Cooper L., Waldram M., Crews D., Henderson M., Massie A., Segev D. Race/Ethnicity and Hypertension Self-Care Behaviors among US Living Kidney Donors Am J Transplant. 2017;17 (suppl 3).

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