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. 2020 May 6;21:166. doi: 10.1186/s12882-020-01831-8

Table 1.

Baseline characteristics and clinical parameters of enrolled patients according to gait speed and handgrip strength

Normal GS and HS
(n = 119)
Normal GS and low HS
(n = 80)
Low GS and normal HS
(n = 34)
Low GS and HS
(n = 44)
p value
Age (year) 58.6 ± 14.3 61.5 ± 11.1 63.7 ± 10.3 68.6 ± 12.0 < 0.001c,e
Sex (male, %) 75 (63.0) 61 (76.2) 19 (55.9) 28 (63.6) 0.118
BMI (kg/m2) 23.2 ± 4.2 22.5 ± 3.3 24.5 ± 4.5 22.1 ± 3.2 0.024e
Time on dialysis (year) 2.8 [0.8, 5.9] 3.3 [0.8, 7.8] 1.1 [0.3, 2.6] 1.4 [0.3, 4.8] 0.005e
Previous cardiovascular events (n, %) 26 (21.8) 28 (35.0) 11 (32.4) 19 (43.2) 0.039a,c
Diabetes mellitus (n, %) 55 (46.2) 44 (55.0) 23 (67.6) 31 (70.5) 0.017b,c
Pre-HD SBP (mmHg) 141 ± 20 142 ± 25 143 ± 19 140 ± 21 0.949
Access type (n, %)
 Arteriovenous fistula 101 (84.9) 61 (76.2) 24 (70.6) 36 (81.8) 0.343
 Arteriovenous graft 15 (12.6) 16 (20.0) 10 (29..4) 6 (13.6)
 Catheter 3 (2.5) 3 (3.8) 0 (0) 2 (4.5)
Single-pool Kt/V 1.54 ± 0.29 1.59 ± 0.26 1.57 ± 0.29 1.68 ± 0.27 0.039c
Hemoglobin (g/dL) 10.6 ± 1.3 10.4 ± 1.3 10.6 ± 1.2 10.2 ± 1.3 0.417
Albumin (g/dL) 3.9 ± 0.3 3.9 ± 0.3 3.8 ± 0.4 3.7 ± 0.3 0.002c,e
Pre-HD BUN (mg/dL) 62.8 ± 17.8 58.4 ± 13.9 55.9 ± 17.7 54.5 ± 23.1 0.027c
Pre-HD creatinine (mg/dL) 9.7 ± 3.1 9.4 ± 2.2 8.1 ± 2.8 7.5 ± 2.6 < 0.001b,c,e
Ca (mg/dL) 8.5 ± 0.8 8.7 ± 0.8 8.3 ± 0.7 8.7 ± 0.9 0.037d
P (mg/dL) 5.0 ± 1.4 4.7 ± 1.2 4.7 ± 1.4 4.4 ± 1.6 0.153
Intact PTH (pg/mL) 190 [128, 302] 221 [119, 303] 185 [104, 370] 106 [58, 234] 0.060
Total CO2 (mEq/L) 22.5 ± 3.0 23.3 ± 3.1 22.6 ± 2.9 23.3 ± 2.9 0.246
β2-microglobulin (mg/L) 25.2 ± 8.6 24.4 ± 7.4 21.4 ± 7.3 25.1 ± 9.3 0.142
Total cholesterol (mg/dL) 143 ± 29 132 ± 28 145 ± 32 141 ± 31 0.019e
LDL cholesterol (mg/dL) 78 ± 24 73 ± 25 75 ± 26 85 ± 28 0.095
HDL cholesterol (mg/dL) 45 ± 15 45 ± 12 45 ± 16 45 ± 13 1.000
Gait speed* (m/s) 1.14 ± 0.24 1.09 ± 0.18 0.66 ± 0.13 0.62 ± 0.13 < 0.001b,c,d,e
Handgrip strength* (kg)
 Male 31.9 ± 9.2 19.4 ± 4.2 26.3 ± 13.6 18.9 ± 4.9 < 0.001a,b,c,d,f
 Female 21.4 ± 9.6 14.2 ± 2.1 18.4 ± 6.1 13.7 ± 2.2 < 0.001a,c
MAMC (cm) 23.3 ± 3.4 22.5 ± 4.4 22.3 ± 2.5 21.6 ± 3.5 0.074
Anti-hypertensive medication (n, %)
 Renin-angiotensin system blocker 67 (56.3) 42 (52.5) 23 (67.6) 25 (56.8) 0.524
 Calcium channel blocker 74 (62.2) 44 (55.0) 21 (61.8) 30 (68.2) 0523
 β-blocker 46 (38.7) 30 (37.5) 19 (55.9) 20 (45.5) 0.250
HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor 51 (42.9) 31 (38.8) 21 (61.8) 27 (61.4) 0.022c,d,e

Abbreviations: GS Gait speed; HS Handgrip strength; BMI Body mass index; HD Hemodialysis; CV Cardiovascular; SBP Systolic blood pressure; BUN Blood urea nitrogen; PTH Parathyroid hormone; LDL Low-density lipoprotein; HDL High-density lipoprotein; MAMC Mid-arm muscle circumference

*Low GS was defined as a gait speed of less than 0.8 m/s, and low HS was defined as < 26 kg for men and < 18 kg for women

MAMC was calculated by the following: MAMC = Midarm Circumference - (3.14163 Χ Triceps Skinfold Thickness / 10)

ap < 0.05, Normal GS and HS vs. Normal GS and low HS; bp < 0.05, Normal GS and HS vs. Low GS and normal HS; cp < 0.05, Normal GS and HS vs. Low GS and HS; dp < 0.05, Normal GS and low HS vs. Low GS and normal HS; ep < 0.05, Normal GS and low HS vs. Low GS and HS

Data are expressed as mean ± standard deviation or the number of patients (percentage). Time on dialysis and intact PTH levels were non-normally distributed and therefore described as median [first and third interquartile rage]