Hand dexterity, daily functioning and health-related quality of life in kidney transplant recipients

Impaired interplay between sensory and motor function may be an important, often overlooked cause of the decreased daily functioning and impaired health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of kidney transplant recipients (KTR). We assessed this interplay using a hand dexterity test, and investigated its potential associations with daily functioning and HRQoL among KTR enrolled at the TransplantLines Biobank and Cohort Study. A total of 309 KTR (58% male, mean age 56 ± 13 years) at median 4 [IQR: 1–11] years after transplantation were included. Impaired hand dexterity, as defined by a test performance slower than the 95th percentile of an age- and sex-specific reference population, was observed in 71 (23%) KTR. Worse hand dexterity was independently associated with worse performance on almost all measures of physical capacity, activities of daily living and societal participation. Finally, hand dexterity was independently associated with physical HRQoL (standardized beta − 0.22, 95%CI − 0.34 to − 0.09, P < 0.001). In conclusion, impaired interplay between sensory and motor function, as assessed by hand dexterity, is prevalent among KTR. In addition, poor hand dexterity was associated with impaired daily functioning and limited physical HRQoL. Impaired interplay between sensory and motor function may be therefore an important, hitherto overlooked, phenomenon in KTR.