Copyright: ©Author(s) 2026. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license. No commercial re-use. See permissions. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc.
World J Transplant. Sep 18, 2026; 16(3): 120639
Published online Sep 18, 2026. doi: 10.5500/wjt.120639
Published online Sep 18, 2026. doi: 10.5500/wjt.120639
Impact of obesity and income on the likelihood of kidney transplantation: A retrospective cohort study
Tatenda G Mupfudze, Dzhuliyana G Handarova, Samantha M G Noreen, United Network for Organ Sharing, Richmond, VA 23219, United States
Jesse D Schold, Department of Epidemiology, Colorado School of Public Health, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO 80045, United States
Anil Paramesh, Department of Surgery, Tulane Transplant Institute, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA 70112, United States
Rajesh Mohandas, Section of Nephrology & Hypertension, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA 70112, United States
Author contributions: Mupfudze TG and Mohandas R conceived the research question; Mupfudze TG, Noreen SMG, Schold JD, Paramesh A, and Mohandas R contributed to the study design; Handarova DG and Noreen SMG performed data analyses; Mupfudze TG drafted the manuscript and all authors revised the manuscript; and all coauthors contributed to data interpretation.
AI contribution statement: AI tools (specifically Copilot) were used solely for linguistic refinement and formatting assistance. No AI tool was involved in the generation of research data, interpretation of results, or formulation of conclusions. All AI-generated outputs were critically reviewed and revised by the authors.
Institutional review board statement: This study was approved by the Advarra Institutional Review Board with a waiver of informed consent, and all procedures were performed in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki.
Informed consent statement: This study was approved by the Advarra Institutional Review Board with a waiver of informed consent.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All authors declare that they have no conflict of interest to disclose.
STROBE statement: The authors have read the STROBE Statement-checklist of items, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the STROBE Statement-checklist of items.
Data sharing statement: Data sharing is not applicable to this article as no new data were created or analyzed in this study.
Corresponding author: Tatenda G Mupfudze, PhD, Senior Researcher, United Network for Organ Sharing, 700 N. 4th Street, Richmond, VA 23219, United States.
Received: March 4, 2026
Revised: May 18, 2026
Accepted: June 23, 2026
Published online: September 18, 2026
Processing time: 180 Days and 19.8 Hours
Revised: May 18, 2026
Accepted: June 23, 2026
Published online: September 18, 2026
Processing time: 180 Days and 19.8 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: This study examines how obesity, measured by body mass index (BMI), and individual income jointly influence access to deceased donor kidney transplantation and living donor kidney transplantation among adults listed in the United States. By stratifying analyses by race and ethnicity, we identify distinct patterns in how BMI and income affect transplant likelihood. These findings highlight the need to consider both clinical and social risk factors when designing strategies to improve equity in kidney transplant access.