Table 1.
Cohort characteristics
| Variable | Discontinued Dialysisa (N=29,212) | Total Cohort (N=1,175,252) |
| Age at first dialysis initiation, yrs, median (IQR) | 75.0 (66.0, 81.0) | 64.0 (54.0, 75.0) |
| Sex (%) | ||
| Male | 53.0 | 56.8 |
| Female | 47.0 | 43.2 |
| Race (%) | ||
| Non-Hispanic White | 78.1 | 53.6 |
| Non-Hispanic Black | 13.6 | 27.7 |
| Hispanic | 5.7 | 13.4 |
| Other | 2.5 | 5.3 |
| Primary cause of renal failure (%) | ||
| Diabetes mellitus | 43.6 | 45.8 |
| Hypertension | 32.8 | 29.4 |
| GN | 5.6 | 8.0 |
| Cystic kidney disease | 1.2 | 1.9 |
| Other | 16.8 | 14.8 |
| Modality switching (%) | ||
| HD to PD | 5.1 | 6.3 |
| PD to HD | 3.1 | 3.6 |
| HD, No change | 89.8 | 86.2 |
| PD, No change | 2.1 | 3.8 |
| Region (%) | ||
| West | 18.0 | 19.9 |
| Midwest | 28.7 | 21.3 |
| South | 38.3 | 41.3 |
| Northeast | 15.0 | 17.5 |
| Insurance status (%) | ||
| Insuredb | 98.0 | 93.2 |
| Uninsured | 2.0 | 6.8 |
| First yr of dialysis (%) | ||
| 2005–2008 | 34.1 | 34.9 |
| 2009–2012 | 38.8 | 36.5 |
| 2013–2015 | 27.1 | 28.6 |
| Comorbidities (%) | ||
| Stroke | 13.4 | 9.2 |
| Heart failure | 37.1 | 31.5 |
| Smoking | 5.9 | 6.3 |
| Hypertension | 86.1 | 85.9 |
| Drug dependence | 0.6 | 1.3 |
| Peripheral vascular disease | 17.1 | 12.6 |
| Coronary artery disease | 26.2 | 19.1 |
| Malignancy | 11.9 | 7.4 |
| Diabetes mellitus | 54.5 | 55.3 |
IQR, interquartile range; HD, hemodialysis; PD, peritoneal dialysis.
a
When compared with patients who did not discontinue dialysis, P for all categories <0.001.
b
Insured comprises patients with both public and private insurance.