Table 1. Characteristics of patients with and without ESA at the start of pre-dialysis care.

	all patients	No ESA	ESA
Number	502	297	205
Age	64.9 (14.3)	64.4 (14.5)	65.7 (14.1)
Sex (% male)	67.9	67.7	68.3
BMI (kg/m2)	26.8 (5.2)	26.6 (5.3)	27.0 (5.0)
Primary kidney disease (%)
Diabetes mellitus	14.3	13.5	15.6
Glomerulonefritis	13.3	12.8	14.1
Renal vascular disease	30.7	30.3	31.2
Other	41.6	43.4	39.0
Comorbidity (%)
Diabetes Mellitus	26.3	24.2	29.3
Hypertension	83.2	84.8	80.9
Cardiovascular disease	41.2	43.4	38.0
eGFR (MDRD) mL/min/1.73 m2	16.6 (5.9)	17.4 (5.8)	15.6 (6.0)
Albumin (g/L)	40.7 (4.6)	41.0 (4.7)	40.4 (4.4)
Hemoglobin (g/dL)	12.3 (1.5)	12.4 (1.5)	12.1 (1.4)

Values are presented as mean (standard deviation) or percentage.

Abbreviations: ESA = Erythropoiesis-Stimulating Agent, BMI = Body Mass Index, eGFR = estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate.