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Table 1 Baseline Characteristics

From: Comparative mortality of hemodialysis patients at for-profit and not-for-profit dialysis facilities in the United States, 1998 to 2003: A retrospective analysis

  

Facility Profit Status

   

Characteristic

All, 100.0% N = 205,076

Not-For-Profit, 20.1% n = 41,307

For-Profit, 79.9% n = 163,769

P*

AOR For-Profit (95% CI)

P †

Facility affiliation

   

< 0.0001

  

   Freestanding

12.9

41.4

98.6

 

Reference

-

   Hospital-based

87.1

58.6

1.4

 

0.01 (0.01–0.01)

< 0.0001

Year of dialysis inception

   

< 0.0001

  

   1998

14.7

18.5

13.7

 

Reference

-

   1999

15.4

17.6

14.8

 

1.16 (1.10–1.23)

< 0.0001

   2000

16.6

17.8

16.3

 

1.12 (1.06–1.19)

< 0.0001

   2001

17.0

16.0

17.3

 

1.06 (1.00–1.12)

0.032

   2002

17.8

15.6

18.3

 

0.87 (0.83–0.92)

< 0.0001

   2003

18.4

14.4

19.5

 

0.89 (0.85–0.94)

< 0.0001

Age group (years)

   

< 0.0001

  

   ≤ 40

7.1

7.7

7.0

 

Reference

-

   40 to 65

33.7

32.1

34.1

 

1.10 (1.04–1.17)

0.002

   > 65

59.1

60.2

58.9

 

1.14 (1.06–1.22)

0.0002

Sex

   

< 0.0001

  

   Male

52.0

53.3

51.7

 

0.98 (0.95–1.01)

0.280

   Female

48.0

46.7

48.3

 

Reference

-

Race

   

< 0.0001

  

   White

62.6

64.9

62.0

 

Reference

-

   Black

32.4

29.1

33.2

 

0.91 (0.88–0.95)

0.001

   Other

5.1

5.9

4.8

 

0.96 (0.90–1.03)

0.297

Body mass index (kg/m2)

   

< 0.0001

  

   < 18.5

5.9

6.4

5.8

 

0.90 (0.84–0.96)

0.001

   18.5 to < 25

38.7

39.0

38.6

 

Reference

-

   25 to < 30

28.3

28.2

28.3

 

1.02 (0.98–1.06)

0.358

   ≥ 30

27.1

26.4

27.3

 

1.04 (1.00–1.08)

0.074

Employment status

   

< 0.0001

  

   Employed

10.4

10.6

10.3

 

Reference

-

   Unemployed

43.7

41.1

44.4

 

0.96 (0.91–1.01)

0.093

   Retired

45.9

48.4

45.3

 

0.89 (0.84–0.94)

< 0.0001

Cause of ESRD

   

< 0.0001

  

   Diabetes mellitus

48.7

47.6

49.0

 

Reference

-

   Hypertension

30.8

28.4

31.4

 

1.09 (1.05–1.13)

< 0.0001

   Glomerulonephritis

7.9

9.1

7.6

 

0.91 (0.86–0.97)

0.002

   Other

12.6

14.9

12.0

 

0.92 (0.87–0.96)

0.0003

Hospitalization (days)

   

< 0.0001

  

   0

65.9

65.6

66.0

 

Reference

-

   0 to 5

15.6

15.1

15.7

 

1.04 (0.99–1.09)

0.110

   > 5

18.5

19.3

18.3

 

1.16 (1.10–1.22)

< 0.0001

Infectious hospitalization

10.6

11.1

10.5

0.0011

0.94 (0.89–1.00)

0.036

Atherosclerotic heart disease

40.1

42.8

39.4

< 0.0001

0.93 (0.90–0.97)

0.0001

Congestive heart failure

45.0

46.2

44.7

< 0.0001

1.04 (1.00–1.07)

0.043

Stroke or TIA

16.0

16.5

15.9

0.0043

0.98 (0.94–1.02)

0.247

Peripheral vascular disease

27.5

29.4

27.1

< 0.0001

0.99 (0.96–1.03)

0.718

Dysrhythmia

18.8

20.5

18.3

< 0.0001

0.91 (0.87–0.95)

< 0.0001

Other cardiac disease

13.1

13.5

13.0

0.0223

1.02 (0.98–1.07)

0.347

COPD

14.0

15.4

13.6

< 0.0001

0.88 (0.84–0.92)

< 0.0001

Gastrointestinal disease

4.3

4.7

4.1

< 0.0001

0.96 (0.89–1.04)

0.311

Hepatic disease

8.6

6.8

9.1

< 0.0001

1.51 (1.42–1.60)

< 0.0001

Cancer

8.8

9.6

8.6

< 0.0001

0.94 (0.89–0.99)

0.022

Clinical benchmarks

      

   Urea reduction ratio (%)

   

< 0.0001

  

   < 60

8.3

9.3

8.1

 

0.93 (0.87–0.99)

0.019

   60 to < 65

11.7

12.0

11.7

 

Reference

-

   65 to < 70

21.7

20.0

22.1

 

1.20 (1.14–1.27)

< 0.0001

   70 to < 75

24.3

21.0

25.2

 

1.22 (1.16–1.29)

< 0.0001

   ≥ 75

20.8

17.2

21.7

 

1.17 (1.11–1.24)

0.0002

   Unknown

13.1

20.4

11.3

 

-

-

Hemoglobin (g/dL)‡

   

< 0.0001

  

   < 10

7.6

8.9

7.3

 

0.89 (0.84–0.95)

0.0002

   10 to < 11

14.6

15.8

14.3

 

0.96 (0.92–1.01)

0.080

   11 to < 12

28.7

28.7

28.6

 

Reference

-

   12 to < 13

24.9

20.3

26.1

 

1.23 (1.19–1.29)

< 0.0001

   ≥ 13

13.3

9.3

14.3

 

1.66 (1.57–1.75)

< 0.0001

   Unknown

10.9

16.9

9.3

 

-

-

Epoetin dose quartiles

   

< 0.0001

  

(units/month)

      

   < 35,766

22.3

23.3

22.0

 

Reference

-

   35,766 to < 58,200

22.4

22.3

22.4

 

0.96 (0.92–1.00)

0.050

   58,200 to < 91,250

22.3

20.0

22.9

 

1.06 (1.02–1.11)

0.009

   ≥ 91,250

22.3

17.7

23.4

 

1.16 (1.10–1.21)

< 0.0001

   Unknown

10.8

16.7

9.3

 

-

-

Intravenous iron use

71.1

60.1

73.9

< 0.0001

1.23 (1.19–1.27)

< 0.0001

Blood transfusion

6.3

6.8

6.2

< 0.0001

0.93 (0.87–0.99)

0.025

On transplant waiting list

2.7

3.6

2.5

< 0.0001

0.75 (0.69–0.82)

< 0.0001

  1. Values are percentage of n in column head. AOR, adjusted odds ratio; COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; ESRD, end-stage renal disease; TIA, transient ischemic attack.
  2. *Compared using the χ2 test.
  3. †Using multiple logistic regression, with adjustment for facility affiliation, year of dialysis inception, age group, sex, race, body mass index, employment status, cause of ESRD, days of hospitalization, infectious hospitalization, and comorbid conditions.
  4. ‡To convert hemoglobin in g/dL to g/L, multiply by 10.
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