Table II.
Demographics of patients that initiated HD with TDC, based on attempted access creation within 3 months of starting HD.
| Characteristic | AVF | AVG | TDC | Total | P-value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N | 31,493 | 10,492 | 96,260 | 138,245 | |
| Average Age at dialysis initiation (years, SD) | 68.9 (12.5) | 70.2 (12.0) | 63.2 (15.4) | 65.1 (14.8) | <.001 |
| Age distribution | |||||
| Under 65 years | 8,933 (28.4%) | 2,629 (25.1%) | 49,040 (51.0%) | 60,602 (43.8%) | <.001 |
| 65–79 years | 16,213 (51.5%) | 5,427 (51.7%) | 32,083 (33.3%) | 53,723 (38.9%) | |
| 80+ years | 6,347 (20.1%) | 2,436 (23.2%) | 15,137 (15.7%) | 23,920 (17.3%) | |
| Caucasian race | 69.9% | 58.7% | 63.0% | 64.2% | <.001 |
| Male gender | 58.3% | 42.6% | 53.3% | 53.7% | <.001 |
| Hispanic ethnicity | 11.8% | 11.8% | 13.8% | 13.2% | <.001 |
| Body mass index (mean kg/m2) | 28.58 | 28.91 | 28.61 | 28.62 | .001 |
| Cause of ESRD | |||||
| Diabetes | 45.9% | 47.5% | 41.8% | 43.2% | <.001 |
| Hypertension | 28.2% | 29.9% | 27.4% | 27.8% | <.001 |
| Medical Comorbididites | |||||
| Amputation | 3.8% | 3.9% | 3.7% | 3.7% | .578 |
| Cancer | 8.3% | 8.3% | 7.5% | 7.7% | <.001 |
| Cardiovascular disease | |||||
| Atherosclerotic heart disease | 27.9% | 27.5% | 21.7% | 23.6% | <.001 |
| Congestive heart failure | 41.2% | 42.1% | 37.1% | 38.4% | <.001 |
| Peripheral vascular disease | 18.6% | 18.8% | 15.1% | 16.1% | <.001 |
| Other cardiac diseases | 19.3% | 18.3% | 17.1% | 17.7% | <.001 |
| Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease | 11.9% | 11.3% | 10.0% | 10.5% | <.001 |
| Diabetes, Insulin dependent | 36.8% | 39.1% | 36.4% | 36.7% | <.001 |
| Hypertension | 85.9% | 86.4% | 83.7% | 84.4% | <.001 |
| TIA/Stroke | 11.7% | 13.1% | 10.6% | 11.0% | <.001 |
| Tobacco smoker, current | 6.1% | 5.1% | 6.6% | 6.4% | <.001 |
| Other demographics | |||||
| Entitled to Federal Medicare benefits | 89.4% | 91.1% | 54.6% | 65.3% | <.001 |
| Inability to ambulate | 6.4% | 9.0% | 8.9% | 8.3% | <.001 |
| Inability to transfer | 2.6% | 3.8% | 4.6% | 4.1% | <.001 |
| Living in an assisted care home or other institution | 7.3% | 9.8% | 10.2% | 9.5% | <.001 |
| Medically unfit for transplant surgery | 10.2% | 12.1% | 10.9% | 10.9% | <.001 |
| Nephrologist care prior to HD initiation | 62.4% | 62.9% | 51.5% | 54.9% | <.001 |
| Dietitian care prior to HD initiation | 8.2% | 8.4% | 7.5% | 7.7% | <.001 |
| Serum Albumin level (mean g/dL) | 3.08 | 3.06 | 2.97 | 3.00 | <.001 |
| Hemoglobin A1c (mean) | 6.63 | 6.56 | 6.64 | 6.63 | .229 |
| Use of erythropoietin pre-dialysis | 33.2% | 35.7% | 25.7% | 28.2% | <.001 |