Table 3.
Comparison of patient clinical characteristics among regions categorised according to the number of nephrologists
| Variables | Category of the number of nephrologists | P values for trend | ||
| Lowest three regions (n=2491) | Intermediate four regions (n=1742) | Highest three regions (n=2193) | ||
| Nephrologists per 100 000 populations | 2.59 | 3.16 | 3.86 | |
| Age, mean (SD), year | 41.8 (17.2) | 39.3 (18.2) | 36.9 (17.5) | <0.001 |
| Hypertension, n (%) | 1194 (47.9) | 733 (42.1) | 863 (39.4) | <0.001 |
| eGFR, mean (SD), mL/min/1.73 m2 | 70.5 (28.7) | 77.3 (30.4) | 77.3 (30.4) | <0.001 |
| UPE, mean (SD), g/day | 1.30 (1.75) | 1.17 (1.74) | 0.99 (1.32) | <0.001 |
| Haematuria grade 2/3, n (%) | 1723 (69.2) | 1165 (66.9) | 1425 (65.0) | 0.002 |
| KDIGO renal prognosis risk, n (%) | ||||
| Very high risk | 819 (32.9) | 465 (26.7) | 528 (24.1) | <0.001 |
| High risk | 943 (37.9) | 616 (35.4) | 794 (36.2) | 0.226 |
| Moderately increased risk | 451 (18.1) | 402 (23.1) | 559 (25.5) | <0.001 |
| Low risk | 278 (11.2) | 259 (14.9) | 312 (14.2) | 0.001 |
eGFR, estimated glomerular filtration rate; KDIGO, Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcomes; UPE, urinary protein excretion.