SAN DIEGO—Serum phosphorus concentrations are significantly lower in elderly hemodialysis (HD) patients compared with younger patients, regardless of gender and racial or ethnic group, researchers reported at Kidney Week 2012.
Investigators led by Kamyar Kalantar-Zadeh, MD, MPH, PhD, now Professor of Medicine at the University of California-Irvine, divided 111,302 outpatients maintenance HD (MHD) patients into five age groups: 15 and older but younger than 45; 45 and older but younger than 65; 65 and older but younger than 70; 70 and older but younger than 75; and age 75 and older. The study population included 50,741 whites, 38,825 blacks, 18,078 Hispanics, and 3,658 Asians.
The average serum phosphorus levels decreased progressively with each older age group, from 6.24 mg/dL in the youngest age group to 4.87 mg/dL in the oldest age group, a trend that was statistically significantly. The results remained similar after adjusting for case-mix, according to the researchers.
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Previous studies have shown that elderly MHD patients tend to have worse nutritional parameters compared with their younger counterparts, the investigators stated. Differences in serum phosphorus levels between young and elderly MHD patients across races and ethnicities have not been closely examined in large epidemiological studies, they noted.
