Figure 1.
Flow chart of study enrollment.
Between August 2008 and March 2013, 1069 dialysis patients with end-stage renal disease were initially enrolled. After propensity score matching, 854 patients remained in the final analysis.
Table 1.
Patient characteristics before and after propensity score matching.
Figure 2.
Distribution of propensity scores before and after propensity score matching.
The propensity scores of unmatched patients were significantly different between the early- and late-start groups. The propensity scores of matched patients were almost the same between groups.
Figure 3.
Kaplan-Meier patient survival curve for the timing of dialysis initiation.
(A) Before matching, the patients in the early start group had poor survival. (B) After propensity score matching, patients in the early- and late-start groups showed no differences in survival.
Figure 4.
Hazard ratio (HR) for mortality of early dialysis initiation using a Cox proportional analysis in the propensity score-matched cohort.
The hazard of early dialysis initiation was not elevated in any subgroup except patients with diabetes. In patients with diabetes, the hazard of early dialysis initiation was significantly greater (HR 2.024, 95% CI 1.025–3.996).
Table 2.
Causes of patient mortality.