Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of the cohort
| Demographics | |
| Age (mean years ± SD) | 62.6 ± 15.1 |
| Male, n (%) | 479 (62.1) |
| Caucasian, n (%) | 702 (91.1) |
| Cause of ESRD, n (%) | |
| Diabetes | 235 (30.5) |
| Other | 158 (20.5) |
| Ischemic/Hypertension | 138 (17.9) |
| Unknown | 94 (12.2) |
| Glomerulonephritis | 86 (11.2) |
| Polycystic kidney disease | 60 (7.8) |
| aSelect Comorbidities, n (%) | |
| Diabetes with complications | 286 (37.1) |
| Myocardial infarction | 236 (30.6) |
| Congestive heart failure | 172 (22.3) |
| Peripheral vascular disease | 154 (20.0) |
| Chronic lung disease | 129 (16.7) |
| Cerebrovascular disease | 93 (12.1) |
| Diabetes without complications | 81 (10.5) |
| Neoplasia | 50 (6.5) |
| Peptic ulcer disease | 49 (6.4) |
| Laboratory | |
| MDRD GFR [median mL/min/1.73 m2 (Q1-Q3)] | 8 (6–10) |
| Albumin (mean g/dL ± SD) | 3.14 ± 0.65 |
| Phosphate, n = 768 [median mg/dL (Q1-Q3)] | 5.9 (5.0-7.4) |
| Hemoglobin, n = 770 [median g/dL (Q1-Q3)] | 9.7 (8.6-10.9) |
| Dialysis Access, n (%) | |
| Hemodialysis with central venous catheter | 410 (53.2) |
| Hemodialysis with arteriovenous fistula | 194 (25.2) |
| Peritoneal dialysis | 167 (21.7) |
| End Stage Renal Disease Comorbidity Index, n (%) | |
| Index score of ≤1 | 253 (32.8) |
| Index score of 2 | 161 (20.9) |
| Index score of 3 | 62 (8.0) |
| Index score of 4 | 92 (11.9) |
| Index score of 5 | 59 (7.7) |
| Index score of ≥6 | 144 (18.7) |
| Charlson Comorbidity Index, n (%) | |
| Index score of ≤1 | 0 (0) |
| Index score of 2 | 189 (24.6) |
| Index score of 3 | 100 (13.0) |
| Index score of 4 | 152 (19.7) |
| Index score of 5 | 120 (15.6) |
| Index score of ≥6 | 210 (27.2) |
aRemaining comorbid conditions comprising the CCI and ESRD-CI (rheumatological, dementia, mild liver disease, moderate/severe liver disease, metastatic disease, leukemia, lymphoma, human immunodeficiency virus) were present in less than 5 % of the dialysis population at dialysis initiation)