Table 1. Patient Characteristics at Dialysis Initiation, Before, During, and After Hurricane Maria (82 319 person-quarters).
| Characteristic | No. (%) | P value for comparisonsa | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All periods (Jan 1, 2012-Mar 31, 2020) | Before (Jan 1, 2012-Sep 30, 2017) | During (Oct 1, 2017-Dec 31, 2017) | After (Jan 1, 2018-Mar 31, 2020) | 1 | 2 | |
| Unique persons, No. | 11 652 | 9022 | 2592 | 5397 | NA | NA |
| Age, mean (SD)b | 59 (14.7) | 58.4 (14.8) | 55.2 (13.6) | 58.4 (14.3) | <.001 | <.001 |
| Sexb | ||||||
| Male | 7157 (61.6) | 5545 (61.6) | 1622 (62.7) | 3327 (61.8) | .41 | .28 |
| Female | 4465 (38.4) | 3457 (38.4) | 966 (37.3) | 2059 (38.2) | ||
| Race and ethnicityc | ||||||
| Hispanic | 10675 (91.9) | 8228 (91.4) | 2510 (97.0) | 5120 (95.1) | <.001 | <.001 |
| Non-Hispanic | ||||||
| Black | 346 (3.0) | 292 (3.2) | Small cell | 61 (1.1) | ||
| White | 476 (4.1) | 361 (4.0) | 55 (2.1) | 178 (3.3) | ||
| Other | 124 (1.1) | 120 (1.3) | Small cell | 26 (0.5) | ||
| Medical coverage | ||||||
| Dual | 783 (6.7) | 583 (6.5) | 139 (5.4) | 373 (6.9) | <.001 | <.001 |
| Medicaid | 1308 (11.2) | 1006 (11.2) | 370 (14.3) | 672 (12.5) | ||
| Medicare | 1480 (12.7) | 1126 (12.5) | 279 (10.8) | 665 (12.3) | ||
| Other | 8081 (69.4) | 6307 (69.9) | 1804 (69.6) | 3687 (68.3) | ||
| Dialysis type | ||||||
| Hemodialysisb | 10634 (90.2) | 8114 (89.9) | 2260 (87.2) | 4838 (89.6) | <.001 | <.001 |
| Peritoneal | 1074 (9.1) | 838 (9.3) | 321 (12.4) | 538 (10.0) | ||
| Primary cause of kidney failure | ||||||
| Diabetes | ||||||
| No | 4803 (41.2) | 3730 (41.3) | 1151 (44.4) | 2297 (42.6) | <.001 | <.001 |
| Yes | 6849 (58.8) | 5292 (58.7) | 1441 (55.6) | 3100 (57.4) | ||
| Hypertension | ||||||
| No | 9676 (83.0) | 7540 (83.6) | 2138 (82.5) | 4437 (82.2) | .03 | .06 |
| Yes | 1976 (17.0) | 1482 (16.4) | 454 (17.5) | 960 (17.8) | ||
P values for comparison 1: all patients in Puerto Rico during Hurricane Maria regardless of before or after; those who were in Puerto Rico only after or (before and after, not during); and those who were in Puerto Rico before only. P value for comparison 2: all patients who did not leave Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria; left Puerto Rico during Maria; and in Puerto Rico only before. P values performed by either analysis of variance or χ2 test (exact); percentages are reported in parenthesis unless otherwise noted.
Variables contain a small proportion of missing values (≤2%).
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services defines “Non-Hispanic Other” as respondents who are unable to identify with any of the race categories provided in form 2728.