Table 2.
Patient Characteristics by Dialysis Initiation Strategy at the End of Follow Up
| Characteristic | N for analysis |
Later N=80 n (%) |
Early N=146 n (%) |
Undeclared N=426 n (%) |
P-value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age, mean (SD) | 652 | 63.5±15.4 | 65.7±13.7 | 71.9±14.8 | <0.001 |
| Male gender | 652 | 29(36.3) | 84(57.5) | 189(44.4) | 0.004 |
| Race | 652 | <0.001 | |||
| Caucasian | 38(47.5) | 101(69.2) | 346(81.2) | ||
| African American | 39(48.8) | 40(27.4) | 74(17.4) | ||
| Other | 3(3.8) | 5(3.4) | 6(1.4) | ||
| Comorbid conditions | 652 | ||||
| Diabetes | 40(50.0) | 60(41.1) | 140(32.9) | 0.007 | |
| Hypertension | 71(88.8) | 120(82.2) | 367(86.2) | 0.4 | |
| Hyperlipidemia | 62(77.5) | 117(80.1) | 334(78.4) | 0.9 | |
| Coronary artery disease | 12(15.0) | 29(19.9) | 96(22.5) | 0.3 | |
| Congestive heart failure | 7(8.8) | 23(15.8) | 49(11.5) | 0.2 | |
| Cerebrovascular disease | 12(15.0) | 21(14.4) | 47(11.0) | 0.4 | |
| Tobacco use | 572 | 7(8.8) | 11(7.5) | 26(6.1) | 0.05 |
| Weight, mean (SD) | 605 | 84.4±21.8 | 89.4±24.0 | 81.3±20.3 | <0.001 |
| Cause of kidney disease | 652 | ||||
| Diabetic nephropathy | 25(31.3) | 23(15.8) | 73(17.1) | 0.007 | |
| Polycystic kidney disease | 2(2.5) | 5(3.4) | 14(3.3) | 0.9 | |
| Glomerulonephritis | 5(6.3) | 6(4.1) | 11(2.6) | 0.2 | |
| Medications | |||||
| Phosphorus binder | 584 | 5(6.8) | 6(4.9) | 24(6.2) | 0.8 |
| Erythropoiesis-stimulating agent | 586 | 22(29.7) | 44(35.8) | 118(30.3) | 0.5 |
| Activated vitamin D | 584 | 5(6.8) | 15(12.3) | 39(10.1) | 0.5 |
| Laboratory measurements, mean (SD) | |||||
| Intact parathyroid hormone, pg/ml | 278 | 209.6±139.1 | 203.8±137.9 | 166.1±172.8 | 0.1 |
| Serum phosphorus, mg/dl | 331 | 4.0±0.81 | 4.2±0.61 | 4.2±0.68 | 0.3 |
| Serum hemoglobin, g/dl | 543 | 11.4±1.4 | 11.2±1.3 | 11.3±1.4 | 0.8 |
| Serum potassium, mmol/l | 608 | 4.6±0.51 | 4.5±0.57 | 4.7±0.51 | 0.008 |
| Blood urea nitrogen, mg/dl | 607 | 49.0±14.5 | 58.5±16.8 | 53.0±15.5 | <0.001 |
| Serum bicarbonate, mmol/l | 607 | 22.9±3.3 | 23.7±3.6 | 23.0±3.3 | 0.1 |
| Serum albumin, g/dl | 524 | 3.7±0.59 | 3.7±0.54 | 3.9±0.45 | <0.001 |
| Abnormal laboratory measurements, n (%) | |||||
| Serum phosphorus >4.5 mg/dl | 535 | 60(81.1) | 97(77.0) | 216(64.5) | 0.002 |
| Serum hemoglobin <10.0 g/dl | 633 | 65(81.3) | 110(76.9) | 287(70.0) | 0.06 |
| Serum potassium >5.5 mmol/l | 652 | 54(67.5) | 89(61.0) | 226(53.1) | 0.03 |
| Blood urea nitrogen >100 mmol/l | 652 | 31(38.8) | 49(33.6) | 94(22.1) | <0.001 |
| Serum albumin <3.5 g/dl | 639 | 60(75.0) | 106(73.6) | 231(55.7) | <0.001 |
| Proteinuria | 593 | 73(96.1) | 130(95.6) | 330(86.6) | 0.002 |
| Insurance | 627 | ||||
| Medicare/Medicaid | 627 | 64(84.2) | 105(76.1) | 320(77.5) | 0.4 |
Values presented as Mean ± SD with ANOVA; or N (%) with Pearson's chi-square test unless otherwise stated.