Table 1.

Characteristics of patients who initiated dialysis (n=69,368) between January 2013 and December 2014 by benzodiazepine dispensing within 6 months of initiation

Characteristic	Benzodiazepine within 6 mo, n=11,289	No Benzodiazepine within 6 mo, n=58,079
Age, yr, median [IQR]	68 [59–77]	67 [56–76]
BMI, kg/m2, median [IQR]	28 [24–34]	28 [24–34]
Women, %	54	44
White, %	80	65
Dialysis initiation in 2013, %	59	57
Opioids, %	76	56
Neuropathic pain medication, %
Any	68	49
Gabapentin	26	18
Antidepressant, %	56	29
CNS depressant, %	37	18
Comorbidity, %
Diabetes	58	60
Cardiovascular disease	57	52
Peripheral vascular disease	14	11
Hypertension	88	89
COPD	16	10
Tobacco use	8	6
Cancer	8	7
Drug use	3	2
Inability to ambulate	20	16
Institutionalized	13	9
No comorbidity	1	2
Cause of kidney failure, %
Diabetes	47	49
Hypertensive kidney disease	31	32
GN	6	6
Other	16	13
Dual eligible, %	47	46
Employment status, %
Unemployed	19	26
Full time	1	2
Part time	1	2
Retired	46	42
Disabled	29	24
Other	3	4

Medications were ascertained at any point during follow-up. IQR, interquartile range; BMI, body mass index; CNS, central nervous system; COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.