Table 2.
Patient Characteristics by Facility Type (N = 34,914)
| FP Chain 1 | FP Chain 2 | FP Chain 3 | FP Chain 4 | NP Chain 5 | FP Nonchain | NP Nonchain | p-Value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sociodemographics | ||||||||
| Age (years) | 65.7 (14.3) | 66 (14.4) | 66 (14.7) | 65.8 (14.6) | 65.2 (14.8) | 67.4 (14.1) | 66.9 (14.6) | <.0001 |
| Male gender (%) | 52.4 | 52.2 | 52.7 | 51 | 52.2 | 53.1 | 52.7 | .62 |
| % White | 64.0 | 58.4 | 61.7 | 64.8 | 62.1 | 66.7 | 66.4 | <.0001 |
| Hispanic ethnicity (%) | 16.5 | 11.4 | 14.7 | 9.5 | 8.2 | 15.2 | 8.3 | <.0001 |
| Median household income among white householders (U.S.$) | 40,747 (15,178) | 42,348 (15,122) | 43,215 (15,593) | 40,073 (13,111) | 40,097 (14,646) | 41,529 (15,367) | 44,019 (15,388) | <.0001 |
| Median household income among black householders (U.S.$) | 31,259 (20,914) | 32,579 (19,270) | 33,681 (20,233) | 29,727 (20,446) | 29,059 (20,370) | 33,120 (21,773) | 35,977 (23,336) | <.0001 |
| ESRD clinical history/severity of disease | ||||||||
| Cause of ESRD (%) | <.0001 | |||||||
| Diabetes | 50.7 | 48.2 | 48.9 | 48.5 | 50.0 | 49.7 | 47.5 | |
| Hypertension | 31.2 | 33.1 | 30.6 | 31.6 | 28.3 | 31.6 | 29.3 | |
| Body mass index (kg/m2) | 28.2 (7.5) | 27.5 (7.1) | 27.7 (7.3) | 28.4 (7.7) | 28.1 (7.4) | 27.7 (7) | 27.7 (7.3) | <.0001 |
| Number of vascular access procedures* | 0.2 (0.6) | 0.2 (0.6) | 0.2 (0.6) | 0.2 (0.5) | 0.1 (0.5) | 0.2 (0.6) | 0.2 (0.5) | .19 |
| Total inpatient days* | 3.9 (9) | 4.3 (9.3) | 4.1 (9.2) | 4 (8.7) | 3.3 (8) | 4.3 (9.8) | 3.8 (9) | .001 |
| Blood transfusions (pints)* | 0.2 (1) | 0.2 (0.8) | 0.2 (0.9) | 0.2 (0.8) | 0.2 (0.9) | 0.2 (0.9) | 0.3 (2.7) | .004 |
| Predialysis GFR (ml/min) | 9.9 (4.5) | 10.1 (4.7) | 10.1 (4.7) | 10.5 (4.7) | 9.7 (4.4) | 10.1 (4.6) | 9.9 (4.7) | <.0001 |
| Predialysis serum creatinine (mg/dl) | 6.9 (3.4) | 6.9 (3.6) | 6.8 (3.4) | 6.5 (3.2) | 7 (3.2) | 6.6 (3.1) | 6.8 (3.3) | <.0001 |
| Predialysis albumin (g/dl) | 3.1 (0.7) | 3.1 (0.7) | 3.1 (0.7) | 3.1 (0.7) | 3.1 (0.7) | 3.2 (0.7) | 3.2 (0.7) | <.0001 |
| Anemia management | ||||||||
| Predialysis EPO use | 34.5 | 29.4 | 32 | 32.6 | 37.2 | 32.8 | 39.4 | <.0001 |
| Predialysis hematocrit (%) | 30.3 (6.4) | 30.3 (5.1) | 30.2 (5.1) | 30.5 (5.2) | 30 (5.1) | 30.6 (5.1) | 30.7 (9.4) | <.0001 |
| Average epoetin dose (units/administration)* | 7,457 (6,389) | 8,664 (7,945) | 7,898 (6,351) | 7,555 (6,715) | 6,440 (5,492) | 7,035 (10,777) | 6,208 (5,378) | <.0001 |
| Average hematocrit value (%)* | <.0001 | |||||||
| <33% | 12.6 | 11.0 | 10.6 | 14.5 | 16.2 | 16.9 | 15.1 | |
| 33–<37% | 37.7 | 49.2 | 30.4 | 41.8 | 62.3 | 40.3 | 40.4 | |
| ≥37% | 49.7 | 39.8 | 59.0 | 43.7 | 21.5 | 42.8 | 44.5 | |
| Comorbidities (%yes)† | ||||||||
| Charlson Index | 3 (3.2) | 3 (3.3) | 2.9 (3.1) | 3 (3.3) | 3.2 (3.4) | 3 (3.3) | 2.8 (3.1) | .002 |
| Atherosclerotic heart disease (yes) | 25.0 | 23.9 | 23.3 | 25.0 | 25.5 | 25.6 | 24.8 | .08 |
| Cancer | 6.7 | 7.2 | 7.0 | 7.8 | 8.9 | 7.1 | 7.4 | .05 |
| Congestive heart failure | 23.3 | 24.8 | 21.5 | 23.1 | 22.1 | 23.7 | 23.3 | .004 |
| Hypertension | 60.1 | 61.0 | 58.4 | 60.6 | 60.4 | 59.7 | 54.4 | <.0001 |
| Peripheral vascular disease | 12.4 | 12.2 | 11.6 | 14.9 | 11.5 | 12.8 | 12.3 | .0004 |
| Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease | 9.4 | 9.7 | 8.6 | 9.9 | 9.6 | 9.5 | 8.6 | .26 |
| Cerebrovascular accident/transient ischemic attack | 6.9 | 7.5 | 6.3 | 6.7 | 6 | 6.5 | 6.3 | .14 |
| Gastrointestinal bleeding | 0.9 | 1.2 | 0.9 | 1.0 | 0.9 | 1.0 | 0.8 | .48 |
| Liver disease | 1.4 | 1.8 | 1.9 | 1.5 | 1.3 | 2.1 | 5.2 | <.0001 |
| Cardiovascular comorbidities‡ | 55.6 | 54.5 | 50.9 | 53.5 | 58.4 | 58.2 | 62.4 | <.0001 |
| Noncardiovascular comorbidities§ | 67.2 | 64.5 | 64.2 | 66.8 | 73.5 | 66.3 | 66.3 | <.0001 |
Notes. Italics indicate significance of 0.05. Numbers in parentheses are standard deviations.
Measured during baseline period (months 4–6).
All comorbidities are measured during baseline period, except for preexisting cardiovascular and noncardiovascular comorbidities, which are collected from Medical Evidence form.
Included cardiac arrest, congestive heart failure, cerebrovascular disease, cardiac dysrhythmia, pericarditis, peripheral vascular disease, ischemic heart disease, and myocardial infarction.
Included alcohol dependence, cancer, drug dependence, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV infection), acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), inability to ambulate, inability to transfer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, tobacco use, diabetes, currently on insulin, and diabetes mellitus, primary or contributing.
ESRD, end-stage renal disease; EPO, epoetin; FP, for-profit; GFR, glomerular filtration rate; NP, nonprofit.