Table 1. Baseline characteristics and laboratory data according to DRA status after follow-up periods.
| Group 1 (n = 192) | Group 2 (n = 44) | Group 3 (n = 695) | P value | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ANOVA | G1 vs. G2 | G1 vs. G3 | G2 vs. G3 | ||||
| Age, years | 64.7 ± 8.4 | 63.7 ± 10.5 | 63.2 ± 10.6 | 0.330 | 0.810 | 0.147 | 0.617 |
| Age at HD initiation, years | 38.5 ± 11.2 | 40.9 ± 12.4 | 46.3 ± 12.5 | <0.001 | 0.096 | <0.001 | 0.006 |
| Male, n (%) | 93 (48%) | 21 (48%) | 394 (57%) | 0.082 | 0.932 | 0.042 | 0.245 |
| Diabetic kidney disease, n (%) | 8 (4%) | 3 (7%) | 78 (11%) | 0.011 | 0.452 | 0.003 | 0.364 |
| Dialysis vintage, years | 27 (21–32) | 23 (17–28) | 15 (12–20) | <0.0001 | 0.003 | <0.001 | <0.001 |
| Previous history, n (%) | |||||||
| Acute myocardial infarction | 16 (8%) | 2 (5%) | 33 (5%) | 0.151 | 0.393 | 0.056 | 0.948 |
| Brain hemorrhage | 8 (4%) | 3 (7%) | 22 (3%) | 0.391 | 0.452 | 0.499 | 0.195 |
| Brain infarction | 18 (9%) | 5 (11%) | 65 (9%) | 0.909 | 0.688 | 0.994 | 0.666 |
| Amputation of extremities | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | 6 (1%) | − | 0.688 | 0.196 | 0.535 |
| Body height, cm | 157.6 ± 9.0 | 157.9 ± 9.2 | 160.1 ± 9.0 | 0.002 | 0.784 | 0.001 | 0.158 |
| Pre-dialysis body weight, kg | 54.1 ± 10.4 | 53.5 ± 11.1 | 56.4 ± 10.9 | 0.005 | 0.732 | 0.004 | 0.081 |
| Post-dialysis body weight, kg | 51.9 ± 10.1 | 51.3 ± 11.0 | 54.0 ± 10.5 | 0.011 | 0.737 | 0.007 | 0.105 |
| Pre-dialysis BMI, kg/m2 | 21.6 ± 2.9 | 21.3 ± 3.3 | 21.9 ± 3.2 | 0.178 | 0.587 | 0.127 | 0.227 |
| Post-dialysis BMI, kg/m2 | 21.6 ± 2.9 | 21.3 ± 3.3 | 21.9 ± 3.2 | 0.178 | 0.587 | 0.127 | 0.227 |
| Pre-dialysis SBP, mmHg | 142.0 ± 21.4 | 136.2 ± 21.3 | 146.3 ± 22.3 | 0.004 | 0.063 | 0.062 | 0.003 |
| Pre-dialysis DBP, mmHg | 73.4 ± 12.7 | 72.7 ± 13.1 | 77.0 ± 13.4 | 0.002 | 0.670 | 0.002 | 0.042 |
| Cardiothoracic ratio, % | 50.9 ± 4.8 | 50.0 ± 4.0 | 50.1 ± 5.2 | 0.090 | 0.256 | 0.030 | 0.980 |
| EQ-5D-3L utility score | 0.693 (0.587–0.768) | 0.768 (0.596–1.00) | 0.786 (0.705–1.00) | <0.0001 | 0.056 | <0.001 | 0.003 |
| Kt/V | 1.74 ± 0.38 | 1.80 ± 0.37 | 1.79 ± 0.49 | 0.735 | 0.447 | 0.679 | 0.534 |
| CGR, % | 95.7 ± 34 | 106.1 ± 35.2 | 114.9 ± 33.4 | <0.0001 | 0.013 | <0.0001 | 0.409 |
| nPCR, g/kg/day | 0.96 ± 0.20 | 0.94 ± 0.17 | 0.95 ± 0.21 | 0.696 | 0.429 | 0.542 | 0.602 |
| GNRI | 95.2 ± 7.8 | 94.1 ± 8.7 | 96.8 ± 7.9 | 0.006 | 0.399 | 0.008 | 0.037 |
| β2-MG, mg/L | 27.0 ± 9.4 | 27.3 ± 4.5 | 29.3 ± 5.9 | <0.0001 | 0.199 | <0.001 | 0.029 |
| Hemoglobin, g/dL | 10.9 ± 1.2 | 10.8 ± 1.0 | 11.0 ± 1.1 | 0.661 | 0.658 | 0.577 | 0.435 |
| White blood cells, /μL | 5346 ± 1690 | 5323 ± 1787 | 5326 ± 1633 | 0.981 | 0.870 | 0.978 | 0.841 |
| Platelets, ×104/μL | 16.2 ± 5.6 | 16.5 ± 5.1 | 16.8 ± 5.5 | 0.289 | 0.844 | 0.129 | 0.554 |
| Albumin, g/dL | 3.6 ± 0.3 | 3.6 ± 0.4 | 3.7 ± 0.3 | 0.014 | 0.532 | 0.017 | 0.050 |
| Ferritin, ng/mL | 56.6 (22.0–124.8) | 63.4 (29.9–180.2) | 46.8 (23.0–98.0) | 0.101 | 0.249 | 0.218 | 0.060 |
| Transferrin saturation, % | 21.9 ± 10.4 | 25.4 ± 15.9 | 24.1 ± 13.1 | 0.261 | 0.320 | 0.126 | 0.634 |
| Serum iron, μg/dL | 59.5 ± 28.6 | 72.4 ± 37.9 | 63.9 ± 27.4 | 0.016 | 0.012 | 0.025 | 0.118 |
| C-reactive protein, mg/dL | 0.14 (0.06–0.40) | 0.14 (0.06–0.34) | 0.1 (0.05–0.25) | 0.009 | 0.949 | 0.005 | 0.144 |
| Triglycerides, mg/dL | 97 (70–133) | 93 (69–122) | 91 (65–133) | 0.678 | 0.619 | 0.387 | 0.990 |
| Total cholesterol, mg/dL | 163 ± 34 | 165 ± 32 | 162 ± 35 | 0.884 | 0.786 | 0.790 | 0.654 |
| LDL-C, mg/dL | 87 ± 27 | 92 ± 21 | 89 ± 26 | 0.550 | 0.285 | 0.626 | 0.355 |
| HDL-C, mg/dL | 52 ± 17 | 54 ± 17 | 51 ± 16 | 0.855 | 0.594 | 0.936 | 0.585 |
| Modality of dialysis, n (%) | |||||||
| HD | 166 (86%) | 43 (98%) | 656 (94%) | 0.002 | 0.034 | 0.001 | 0.634 |
| Hemodiafiltration | 26 (14%) | 1 (2%) | 38 (5%) | ||||
| Hemofiltration | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | 1 (0%) | ||||
| HD session length, hours/session | 4.7 (0.6) | 4.6 (0.6) | 4.7 (0.6) | 0.269 | 0.162 | 0.785 | 0.108 |
| Weekly hours of HD, hours/week | 14.1 (1.7) | 13.7 (1.8) | 14.1 (1.8) | 0.448 | 0.233 | 0.974 | 0.211 |
| Use of β2-MG apheresis column, n (%) | 45 (23%) | 4 (9%) | 4 (1%) | <0.001 | 0.034 | <0.001 | <0.001 |
| Use of HPM dialyzer, n/N (%)* | 162/166 (98%) | 43/43 (100%) | 645/656 (98%) | 0.544 | 0.304 | 0.529 | 0.392 |
| Use of ultrapure dialysate, n (%)** | 169 (88%) | 41 (93%) | 631 (91%) | 0.423 | 0.324 | 0.253 | 0.592 |
| Use of ESAs, n (%) | 159 (83%) | 32 (73%) | 581 (84%) | 0.178 | 0.125 | 0.796 | 0.063 |
| Use of iron preparations, n (%) | 69 (36%) | 12 (27%) | 210 (30%) | 0.268 | 0.275 | 0.131 | 0.680 |
| Use of benzodiazepines, n (%) | 41 (21%) | 5 (11%) | 151 (22%) | 0.263 | 0.131 | 0.912 | 0.102 |
| Use of anti-depressants, n (%) | 3 (2%) | 2 (5%) | 13 (2%) | 0.420 | 0.215 | 0.777 | 0.222 |
Data are expressed as mean ± SD, median (interquartile range), or n (percentage) as appropriate.
Abbreviations: β2-MG, β2-microglobulin; BMI, body mass index; CGR, creatinine generation rate; DBP, diastolic blood pressure; DRA, dialysis-related amyloidosis; ESAs, erythropoiesis-stimulating agents; EQ-5D-3L, EuroQol 5-Dimensions 3-Levels Questionnaire; GNRI, geriatric nutritional risk index; HD, hemodialysis; HDL-C, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol; HPM, high-performance membrane; LDL-C, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol; nPCR, normalized protein catabolic rate, SBP, systolic blood pressure.
* Among only HD patients; HPM dialyzer was defined as types IV or V dialyzer.
** Ultrapure dialysate was defined as having levels of bacteria and endotoxin of <0.1 CFU/mL and <0.03 EU/mL, respectively.