PD412 - EXPLORING THE ROLE OF NUTRITION IN ACCELERATED IMMUNE AGEING AFTER KIDNEY TRANSPLANTATION: PROTOCOL FOR A PROSPECTIVE COHORT STUDY

PD412

EXPLORING THE ROLE OF NUTRITION IN ACCELERATED IMMUNE AGEING AFTER KIDNEY TRANSPLANTATION: PROTOCOL FOR A PROSPECTIVE COHORT STUDY

N. Fordel^1,*, G. Glorieux¹, S. Van Laecke¹

¹Nephrology, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent, Belgium

Rationale: Although kidney transplantation (KT) improves survival and quality of life in end-stage kidney disease, kidney transplant recipients (KTRs) still face a 2–4‑fold higher mortality risk than the general population. Growing evidence links this excess risk to accelerated ageing — marked by cardiovascular disease, metabolic dysfunction, and immunosenescence. Nutrition is known to influence immune ageing in experimental and non‑transplant human studies, but its role in KT remains unexplored.

Methods: This prospective longitudinal single‑centre cohort will include approximately 70 adult de novo KTRs, including both living‑ and deceased‑donor transplants; combined organ transplants will be excluded. Participants will be assessed at baseline, 3 months and 6 months post‑KT. A tiered nutritional assessment will combine dietary intake evaluation (24‑h recalls and food frequency questionnaire), plasma/urine micronutrient and metabolomic profiling, ultrasound-guided body‑composition analysis and frailty assessment. Immunosenescence will be quantified using advanced T‑cell phenotyping and senescence‑related biomarkers, including inflammatory cytokines, exhaustion markers and T-cell receptor excision circles. Relevant clinical covariates such as age, graft function and cytomegalovirus status will be collected and incorporated into linear mixed‑effects models.

Results: Primary hypothesis: Reduced intake or deficiency of specific micro/bioactive nutrients, and poorer adherence to healthy dietary patterns, are associated with increased immunosenescence markers, slower post‑transplant recovery and higher frailty scores.

Conclusion: This study will be the first to longitudinally evaluate nutritional determinants of immunosenescence in KTRs and may identify modifiable lifestyle‑related targets to inform future nutritional strategies aimed at improving long‑term transplant outcomes.

Disclosure of Interest: None declared