Influence of socioeconomic factors on liver transplant survival outcomes in patients with autoimmune liver disease in the United States.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: Autoimmune liver diseases (AILDs): autoimmune hepatitis (AIH), primary biliary cholangitis (PBC), and primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) have different survival outcomes after liver transplant (LT). Outcomes are influenced by factors including disease burden, medical comorbidities, and socioeconomic variables. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Using the United Network for Organ Sharing database (UNOS), we identified 13,702 patients with AILDs listed for LT between 2002 and 2021. Outcomes of interest were waitlist removal, post-LT patient survival, and post- LT graft survival. A stepwise multivariate analysis was performed adjusting for transplant recipient gender, race, diabetes mellitus, model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) score, and additional social determinants including the presence of education, reliance on public insurance, working for income, and U.S. citizenship status. RESULTS: Lack of college education and having public insurance increased the risk of waitlist removal (HR, 1.13; 95 % CI, 1.05-1.23, and HR, 1.09; 95 % CI, 1.00-1.18; respectively), and negatively influenced post-LT patient survival (HR, 1.16; 95 % CI, 1.06-1.26, and HR, 1.15; 95 % CI, 1.06-1.25; respectively) and graft survival (HR, 1.13; 95 % CI, 1.05-1.23, and HR, 1.15; 95 % CI, 1.06-1.25; respectively). Not working for income proved to have the greatest detrimental impact on both patient survival (HR, 1.41; 95 % CI, 1.24-1.6) and graft survival (HR, 1.21; 95 % CI, 1.09-1.35). CONCLUSIONS: Our study highlights that lack of college education and public insurance have a detrimental impact on waitlist mortality, patient survival, and graft survival. Not working for income negatively affects post-LT survival outcomes. Not having U.S. citizenship does not affect survival outcomes in AILDs patients.

Living-Donor Liver Transplant and Improved Post-Transplant Survival in Patients with Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis.

Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is the leading indication of liver transplantation (LT) among autoimmune liver disease patients. There is a scarcity of studies comparing survival outcomes between living-donor liver transplants (LDLT)s and deceased-donor liver transplants (DDLTs) in this population. Using the United Network for Organ Sharing database, we compared 4679 DDLTs and 805 LDLTs. Our outcome of interest was post-LT patient survival and post-LT graft survival. A stepwise multivariate analysis was performed, adjusting for recipient age, gender, diabetes mellitus, ascites, hepatic encephalopathy, cholangiocarcinoma, hepatocellular carcinoma, race, and the model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) score; donor' age and sex were also included to the analysis. According to univariate and multivariate analysis, LDLT had a patient and graft survival benefit compared to DDLT (HR, 0.77, 95% CI 0.65-0.92; p < 0.002). LDLT patient survival (95.2%, 92.6%, 90.1%, and 81.9%) and graft survival (94.1%, 91.1%, 88.5%, and 80.5%) at 1, 3, 5, and 10 years were significantly better than DDLT patient survival (93.2%, 87.6%, 83.3%, and 72.7%) and graft survival (92.1%, 86.5%, 82.1%, and 70.9%) (p < 0.001) in the same interval. Variables including donor and recipient age, male recipient gender, MELD score, diabetes mellitus, hepatocellular carcinoma, and cholangiocarcinoma were associated with mortality and graft failure in PSC patients. Interestingly, Asians were more protected than Whites (HR, 0.61; 95% CI, 0.35-0.99; p < 0.047), and cholangiocarcinoma was associated with the highest hazard of mortality (HR, 2.07; 95% CI, 1.71-2.50; p < 0.001) in multivariate analysis. LDLT in PSC patients were associated with greater post-transplant patient and graft survival compared to DDLT patients.