Table 1.
Patient characteristics by intensity of predialysis nephrology care
| Characteristic | Overall | No visits | Low intensitya | Moderate intensitya | High intensitya | P-value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N = 58,014 | N = 26,798 | N = 12,566 | N = 7,690 | N = 10,960 | ||
| Patient Characteristics | ||||||
| Age (yrs)b | 75.7 | 76.1 | 75.5 | 75.2 | 75.2 | <0.001 |
| Female, % | 50.1 | 52.2 | 50.7 | 48.0 | 46.1 | <0.001 |
| Race, % | 0.16 | |||||
| White | 75.2 | 75.3 | 75.4 | 74.9 | 74.9 | |
| African American | 20.9 | 20.7 | 20.7 | 21.7 | 21.1 | |
| Other | 3.9 | 4.0 | 3.9 | 3.4 | 4.0 | |
| Hispanic Ethnicity, % | 9.0 | 9.2 | 9.6 | 8.7 | 8.3 | 0.002 |
| Body Mass Index (kg/m2)b | 26.0 | 25.8 | 25.9 | 26.4 | 26.3 | <0.001 |
| Geographic Characteristics | ||||||
| Hospital Densityc | 20.0 | 20.0 | 21.3 | 20.6 | 18.2 | <0.001 |
| Physician Densityd | 2.2 | 2.3 | 2.2 | 2.1 | 2.2 | <0.001 |
| Urban Residence | 84.1 | 84.5 | 82.5 | 82.7 | 85.9 | <0.001 |
| Median Income < $30,000e | 23.1 | 23.6 | 24.0 | 23.3 | 20.7 | <0.001 |
| Region, % | <0.001 | |||||
| Northeast | 14.5 | 14.4 | 14.2 | 14.4 | 15.1 | |
| Midwest | 25.7 | 28.6 | 24.5 | 23.8 | 21.4 | |
| South | 38.1 | 33.5 | 39.7 | 41.0 | 45.2 | |
| West | 20.3 | 22.2 | 20.0 | 19.1 | 17.1 | |
| Predialysis Healthcare Use | ||||||
| Primary Care Visitsb | 4.2 | 4.1 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.0 | <0.001 |
| Inpatient Daysb | 12.8 | 14.8 | 14.5 | 9.9 | 7.7 | <0.001 |
| Inpatient Admissionsb | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.6 | 1.3 | 1.2 | <0.001 |
| Predialysis Comorbidities, % | ||||||
| Myocardial Infarction | 10.8 | 13.3 | 10.7 | 8.0 | 6.8 | <0.001 |
| Congestive Heart Failure | 57.6 | 62.1 | 59.7 | 53.0 | 47.2 | <0.001 |
| Cerebrovascular Disease | 11.5 | 12.5 | 12.4 | 10.0 | 9.3 | <0.001 |
| Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease | 25.9 | 29.0 | 26.3 | 22.6 | 20.1 | <0.001 |
| Diabetes mellitus | 52.4 | 50.6 | 54.4 | 55.9 | 52.2 | <0.001 |
| Hypertension | 92.8 | 88.7 | 95.2 | 96.9 | 97.5 | <0.001 |
| Peripheral vascular disease | 22.0 | 23.0 | 23.7 | 21.3 | 18.2 | <0.001 |
| Veteran, % | 12.8 | 10.1 | 14.0 | 16.1 | 15.6 | <0.001 |
aPatients were categorized by intensity of predialysis nephrology care: low intensity care (1–3 nephrology visits), moderate intensity care (4–6 nephrology visits), and high intensity care (>6 nephrology visits)
bMean value
cNumber of hospitals per million persons (1990)
dNumber of physicians per thousand persons (1990)
e1999 data (US dollars)