Figure 2. Flow chart for selecting subjects participating in the KAREN Study. 
A total of 1506 adult patients were undergoing hemodialysis in 26 institutes in the study area. We were able to contact 1447 patients (96.5%); an additional 52 patients were excluded because of the severity of their condition. A total of 1260 patients (87.1%) gave written informed consent for participation in the study. Of these, 1214 (80.6%) completed the baseline examination.