Characteristics of participants at study entry
| Characteristics | Exposed* no. (%)† n = 5013 | Unexposed* no. (%)† n = 9369 | Standardized difference‡ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Demographics | |||
| Age, yr, mean ± SD | 75.7 ± 10.7 | 84.5 ± 8.5 | −0.91 |
| Median, yr (IQR) | 77.7 (70.1–83.1) | 85.6 (80.3–90.2) | 0.14 |
| 18–44 yr | 78 (1.6) | 20 (0.2) | 0.41 |
| 45–69 yr | 682 (13.6) | 246 (2.6) | 0.53 |
| 70–79 yr | 2253 (44.9) | 1962 (20.9) | −0.31 |
| 80–89 yr | 1774 (35.4) | 4728 (50.5) | −0.62 |
| ≥ 90 yr | 226 (4.5) | 2413 (25.8) | 0.14 |
| Men | 2219 (44.3) | 3175 (33.9) | 0.21 |
| First Nations | 126 (2.5) | 90 (1.0) | 0.12 |
| Rural residence | 801 (16.0) | 1589 (17.0) | −0.03 |
| Health system factors | |||
| Period of study entry | |||
| 2002–2004 | 1165 (23.2) | 2126 (22.7) | 0.01 |
| 2005–2009 | 2100 (41.9) | 3763 (40.2) | 0.04 |
| 2010–2014 | 1748 (34.9) | 3480 (37.1) | −0.05 |
| Primary care network attachment | 2436 (48.6) | 4974 (53.1) | −0.09 |
| Renal factors | |||
| Index eGFR, mL/min/1.73 m2, median (IQR) | 24.9 (21.5–27.4) | 25.5 (22.4–27.8) | −0.15 |
| 25–29 | 2449 (48.9) | 5120 (54.6) | −0.12 |
| 20–24 | 1722 (34.4) | 3068 (32.7) | 0.03 |
| 15–19 | 842 (16.8) | 1181 (12.6) | 0.12 |
| Disease duration, d, median (IQR) | 144 (108–230) | 166 (112–280) | −0.17 |
| 91–180 | 3194 (63.7) | 5151 (55.0) | 0.18 |
| 181–365 | 1268 (25.3) | 2758 (29.4) | −0.09 |
| 366–730 | 451 (9.0) | 1141 (12.2) | −0.10 |
| > 730 | 100 (2.0) | 319 (3.4) | −0.09 |
| eGFR trajectory, mL/min/1.73 m2/yr | |||
| Improve > 5 | 779 (15.5) | 1551 (16.6) | −0.03 |
| Improve or decline ≤ 5 | 2356 (47.0) | 4922 (52.5) | −0.11 |
| Decline > 5 to ≤ 10 | 804 (16.0) | 1321 (14.1) | 0.05 |
| Decline > 10 | 1074 (21.4) | 1575 (16.8) | 0.12 |
| Prior eGFR, mL/min/1.73 m2 | |||
| ≥ 60 | 90 (1.8) | 152 (1.6) | 0.01 |
| ≥ 30 to < 60 | 3876 (77.3) | 7294 (77.9) | 0.01 |
| Unmeasured | 1047 (20.9) | 1923 (20.5) | −0.01 |
| Albuminuria | |||
| Normal or mild | 2360 (47.1) | 5436 (58.0) | −0.22 |
| Moderate | 1139 (22.7) | 1738 (18.6) | 0.10 |
| Severe | 1450 (28.9) | 1203 (12.8) | 0.40 |
| Unmeasured | 64 (1.3) | 992 (10.6) | −0.40 |
| Outpatient nephrology visit > 2 years before study entry | 814 (16.2) | 825 (8.8) | 0.23 |
| Comorbidities | |||
| Alcohol misuse | 176 (3.5) | 289 (3.1) | 0.02 |
| Atrial fibrillation | 1034 (20.6) | 3019 (32.2) | −0.27 |
| Cancer, lymphoma | 52 (1.0) | 105 (1.1) | −0.01 |
| Cancer, metastatic | 85 (1.7) | 266 (2.8) | −0.08 |
| Cancer, nonmetastatic (breast, cervical, colorectal, lung, prostate) | 398 (7.9) | 853 (9.1) | −0.04 |
| Congestive heart failure | 1596 (31.8) | 4571 (48.8) | −0.35 |
| Chronic pain | 370 (7.4) | 647 (6.9) | 0.02 |
| Chronic pulmonary disease | 1592 (31.8) | 3523 (37.6) | −0.12 |
| Cirrhosis | 32 (0.6) | 56 (0.6) | 0.01 |
| Dementia | 284 (5.7) | 2199 (23.5) | −0.52 |
| Depression | 506 (10.1) | 1202 (12.8) | −0.09 |
| Diabetes | 2520 (50.3) | 3568 (38.1) | 0.25 |
| Hypertension | 4617 (92.1) | 8628 (92.1) | 0.00 |
| Myocardial infarction | 600 (12.0) | 1251 (13.4) | −0.04 |
| Peripheral vascular disease | 371 (7.4) | 672 (7.2) | 0.01 |
| Stroke or transient ischemic attack | 1156 (23.1) | 2919 (31.2) | −0.18 |
| Long-term care | 369 (7.4) | 2247 (24.0) | −0.47 |
| Hospital stay within 1 year before study entry, d | |||
| 0 | 3354 (66.9) | 5677 (60.6) | 0.13 |
| 1–7 | 630 (12.6) | 1154 (12.3) | 0.01 |
| 8–14 | 379 (7.6) | 702 (7.5) | 0.00 |
| 15–28 | 299 (6.0) | 716 (7.6) | −0.07 |
| > 28 | 351 (7.0) | 1120 (12.0) | −0.17 |
| Drugs dispensed | |||
| ACEIs or ARBs | |||
| No | 878 (17.5) | 2782 (29.7) | −0.29 |
| Yes | 3831 (76.4) | 6487 (69.2) | 0.16 |
| Data missing | 304 (6.1) | 100 (1.1) | 0.27 |
| Statins | |||
| No | 2268 (45.2) | 6085 (64.9) | −0.40 |
| Yes | 2400 (47.9) | 3168 (33.8) | 0.29 |
| Data missing | 345 (6.9) | 116 (1.2) | 0.29 |
| NSAIDs | |||
| No | 3502 (69.9) | 7399 (79.0) | −0.21 |
| Yes | 1103 (22.0) | 1837 (19.6) | 0.06 |
| Data missing | 408 (8.1) | 133 (1.4) | 0.32 |
Note: ACEIs = angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, ARBs = angiotensin receptor blockers, eGFR = estimated glomerular filtration rate, IQR = interquartile range, NSAIDs = nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, SD = standard deviation.
↵* Exposed: patients who had an outpatient nephrology visit during follow-up; unexposed: patients who never had an outpatient nephrology visit before renal replacement treatment.
↵† Unless stated otherwise.
↵‡ Standardized differences > 0.1 are considered clinically important.