Am J Kidney Dis. 2006;48:964-971
A Canadian study shows that East Asian and Indo Asian patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) are more likely than white patients to initiate dialysis treatment on peritoneal dialysis (PD).
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Brenda R. Hemmelgarn, MD, PhD, of the University of Calgary in Alberta, and her colleagues studied 10,338 ESRD patients, of whom 9,410 (91%) were white, 592 (5.7%) were East Asian, and 335 (3.2%) were Indo Asian. Compared with whites, East Asians and Indo Asians were 63% and 52% more likely to opt for PD, after controlling for sociodemographic factors and comorbidities.
In addition, East Asians and Indo Asians had a 34% and 37% reduced risk of death after initiating dialysis therapy, regardless of dialysis modality. Within the PD subgroup, both East and Indo Asians had a 30% reduced risk of death compared with whites.
The researchers said they were unable to determine why Asians were more likely to initiate dialysis with PD. There may be unmeasured factors such as family and social support, the team noted. Identification of these factors in the East Asian and Indo Asian ESRD populations may have potential implications in the approach to treatment of ESRD.
