Table 1.
Demographics and clinical characteristics of participants at baseline by distance to the nephrologist practice
| < 50 km | 50–99 km | ≥ 100 km | P | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| N | 896 | 95 | 140 | |
| Age, y | 0.68 | |||
| 18–49 | 202 (22.5) | 20 (21.1) | 30 (21.4) | |
| 50–69 | 404 (45.1) | 41 (43.2) | 71 (50.7) | |
| 70+ | 290 (32.4) | 34 (35.8) | 39 (27.9) | |
| Male | 541 (60.4) | 58 (61.1) | 84 (60) | 0.99 |
| Ethnicity | < 0.001 | |||
| White | 690 (77) | 71 (74.7) | 112 (80) | |
| Indigenous | 41 (4.6) | 23 (24.2) | 22 (15.7) | |
| Other | 165 (18.4) | 1 (1.1) | 6 (4.3) | |
| Followed by a nephrologist for ≥ 90 d prior to dialysis start | 648 (72.3) | 75 (78.9) | 92 (65.7) | 0.08 |
| Catheter days over full follow-up | 567 (181,1315) | 565 (168,1260) | 563.5 (163,1140) | 0.90 |
| Total days of follow-up | 754 (223,1456) | 1007 (258,1567) | 723 (174,1386) | 0.48 |
| Morbidities | ||||
| Atrial fibrillation | 170 (19) | 13 (13.7) | 21 (15) | 0.27 |
| Acute myocardial infarction | 201 (22.4) | 20 (21.1) | 29 (20.7) | 0.87 |
| Cancer | 111 (12.4) | 11 (11.6) | 16 (11.4) | 0.93 |
| Chronic heart failure | 189 (21.1) | 21 (22.1) | 23 (16.4) | 0.42 |
| Chronic lung diseasea | 159 (17.7) | 18 (18.9) | 26 (18.6) | 0.94 |
| Chronic obesity | 217 (24.2) | 29 (30.5) | 52 (37.1) | 0.003 |
| Dementia | 21 (2.3) | 4 (4.2) | 1 (.7) | 0.21 |
| Diabetes | 454 (50.7) | 55 (57.9) | 86 (61.4) | 0.03 |
| Hypertension | 783 (87.4) | 86 (90.5) | 116 (82.9) | 0.19 |
| Liver disease | 77 (8.6) | 7 (7.4) | 3 (2.1) | 0.03 |
| Peripheral vascular disease | 85 (9.5) | 8 (8.4) | 15 (10.7) | 0.83 |
| Psychiatric illnessb | 127 (14.2) | 7 (7.4) | 20 (14.3) | 0.18 |
| Stroke or TIA | 128 (14.3) | 13 (13.7) | 16 (11.4) | 0.66 |
| Substance misusec | 101 (11.3) | 10 (10.5) | 19 (13.6) | 0.70 |
| Unemployment historyd | 44 (4.9) | 10 (10.5) | 9 (6.4) | 0.07 |
IQR interquartile range, TIA transient ischemic attack
N (%) or median (IQR) as appropriate
P for linear trend
aChronic lung disease includes asthma, chronic bronchitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, tuberculosis
bPsychiatric illness includes anxiety, depression, bi-polar disorder, and/or schizophrenia
cSubstances include alcohol, cocaine, ecstasy, intravenous drugs, marijuana, off-prescription drugs, and smoking
dUnemployed status includes homemakers and persons receiving income for disability