Impact of old age on the association between in-center extended-hours hemodialysis and mortality in patients on incident hemodialysis

PLoS One. 2020 Jul 10;15(7):e0235900. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0235900. eCollection 2020.

Abstract

With the global problem of aging, it has become more difficult to improve the prognosis of older dialysis patients. Extended-hours hemodialysis offers longer treatment time compared to conventional hemodialysis regimen and provides favorable metabolic status, hemodynamic stability, and increased dietary intake. Despite prior studies reporting that in-center extended-hours hemodialysis can reduce the mortality rate, the treatment impact on elderly patients remains unclear. Therefore, we examined the association between extended-hours hemodialysis compared to conventional hemodialysis and all-cause mortality. Survival analyses using Cox proportional hazard model with multivariable adjustments and propensity-score based method were performed to compare mortality risk between 198 consecutive patients who started in-center extended-hours hemodialysis (Extended-HD) and 1407 consecutive patients who initiated conventional hemodialysis. The median age was 67.1 years in the Extended-HD group and 70.7 years in the conventional hemodialysis group. Extended-HD was associated with lower all-cause mortality in overall patients and the subgroup >70 years (adjusted hazard ratios of 0.60 [95% CI, 0.39-0.91] and 0.35 [95% CI, 0.18-0.69], respectively). There was a significant interaction between age >70 years and Extended-HD. In conclusion, extended-hours hemodialysis was associated with a lower mortality rate, especially in elderly patients.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Age Factors
  • Aged
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Kaplan-Meier Estimate
  • Kidney Failure, Chronic / mortality
  • Kidney Failure, Chronic / pathology*
  • Kidney Failure, Chronic / therapy
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Propensity Score
  • Proportional Hazards Models
  • Renal Dialysis / methods*
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Risk Factors

Grants and funding

The present study was supported by the Aichi Kidney Foundation (Grant number 11 in 2018). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.