Effectiveness of diet in hyperlipidemia in renal transplant patients.

In renal transplant patients dietary therapy alone does not always provide satisfactory results to control hyperlipidemia. To assess the effectiveness of diet, 151 renal transplant patients were selected for a prospective clinical study using pre- and posttest groups. During 8 weeks these patients received a diet with 25% energy intake from lipids, less than 10% from saturated fats, and less than 500 mg of cholesterol per day. Total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, and triglycerides were measured (pre- versus postdiet). The degree of compliance with the diet was measured by a 24-hour food recall record. Patients who had 90% compatibility between the questionnaire and the prescribed diet were considered compliant. The diet was considered effective in the patients who achieved a reduction of cholesterolemia to less than 200 mg/dL after 8 weeks of treatment. Ultimately 108 patients completed the study, with a significant reduction in total serum cholesterol from 262.37 mg/dL pretest to 252.85 mg/dL posttest (P =.010); LDL cholesterol from 174.29 mg/dL pretest to 166.60 mg/dL posttest (P =.036), of body weight from 68.98 kg pretest to 67.78 kg posttest (P =.01) and of body mass index from 25.86 kg/m(2) pretest to 25.41 kg/m(2) posttest (P =.01). Cholesterol variation was 3.63% as compared to prediet levels. Only 22 patients (20.4%) achieved cholesterol levels below 200 mg/dL. In conclusion, although diets decrease cholesterolemia, they alone are not effective to control hyperlipidemia in most renal transplant patients.