Table 1. Characteristics of Patients at Dialysis Initiation Before and After the Initiating Dialysis Early and Late Trial .
| Variable | Pretrial Period (n = 11 429) | Posttrial Period (n = 17 039) | P Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age, mean (SD), y | 64.7 (14.7) | 64.8 (14.6) | .38 |
| Male sex, No. (%) | 6812 (59.6) | 10 530 (61.8) | <.001 |
| Albumin, mean (SD), g/dL | 3.35 (0.66) | 3.30 (0.66) | <.001 |
| Hemoglobin, mean (SD), g/L | 103.9 (16.2) | 97.7 (15.5) | <.001 |
| Phosphate, mean (SD), mg/dL | 5.77 (1.80) | 5.89 (1.86) | <.001 |
| Estimated GFR, mean (SD), mL/min/1.73 m2 | 10.1 (4.2) | 9.7 (4.2) | <.001 |
| Days of predialysis care, median (IQR) | 917 (398-1743) | 1213 (507-2399) | <.001 |
| BMI, mean (SD) | 28.3 (6.7) | 28.8 (6.9) | <.001 |
| Angina, No. (%) | 2229 (19.5) | 2539 (14.9) | <.001 |
| Previous CABG, No. (%) | 1817 (15.9) | 2999 (17.6) | <.001 |
| Cerebrovascular accident, No. (%) | 1669 (14.6) | 2351 (13.8) | .07 |
| Current smoker, No. (%) | 1646 (14.4) | 2454 (14.4) | >.99 |
| Diabetes, No. (%) | 5955 (52.1) | 10 002 (58.7) | <.001 |
| Hypertension, No. (%) | 10 126 (88.6) | 13 853 (81.3) | <.001 |
| Lung disease, No. (%) | 1326 (11.6) | 2045 (12.0) | .31 |
| Malignant neoplasm, No. (%) | 1531 (13.4) | 2556 (15.0) | <.001 |
| Myocardial infarction, No. (%) | 2457 (21.5) | 3442 (20.2) | .01 |
| Peripheral vascular disease, No. (%) | 2194 (19.2) | 2811 (16.5) | <.001 |
| Pulmonary edema, No. (%) | 2572 (22.5) | 4106 (24.1) | .003 |
| No. of comorbidities, median (IQR) | 2 (1-3) | 2 (1-4) | .003 |
| Origin of kidney failure, No. (%) | |||
| Hypertension | 1680 (14.7) | 2062 (12.1) | <.001 |
| Diabetes | 4892 (42.8) | 8094 (47.5) | |
| Glomerulonephritis | 1200 (10.5) | 1755 (10.3) | |
| Obstruction | 217 (1.9) | 239 (1.4) | |
| Interstitial | 286 (2.5) | 392 (2.3) | |
| Polycystic kidney disease | 583 (5.1) | 835 (4.9) | |
| Other | 1669 (14.6) | 2420 (14.2) | |
| Unknown | 914 (8.0) | 1244 (7.3) | |
| Race/ethnicity, No. (%) | |||
| White | 8080 (70.7) | 11 382 (66.8) | <.001 |
| East Asian | 777 (6.8) | 1278 (7.5) | |
| Aboriginal | 743 (6.5) | 1090 (6.4) | |
| South Asian | 480 (4.2) | 1125 (6.6) | |
| Black | 366 (3.2) | 665 (3.9) | |
| Other | 423 (3.7) | 1056 (6.2) | |
| Unknown | 571 (5.0) | 460 (2.7) |
Abbreviations: BMI, body mass index (calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared); CABG, coronary artery bypass graft; GFR, glomerular filtration rate; IQR, interquartile range.
SI conversion factors: To convert albumin level to grams per liter, multiply by 10; phosphate level to millimoles per liter, divide by 3.1; estimated GFR to milliliter per second per square meter, multiply by 0.0167.