Figure 1.

Standardized mortality rates in the chronic kidney disease and dialysis population, Medicare 5% CKD sample (2011–2014). Our analysis of a 5% random sample of Medicare claims highlights ‘the spike’ in cardiovascular mortality that occurs when dialysis starts that extends into the first 4 months of chronic dialysis. Direct standardized rates for age, gender, and race were calculated as per methods outlined by Ahmad et al.² See Supplementary material online for details regarding the generation of this figure.