Relative risks for spontaneous abortion and menstrual aberration of microelectronics workers compared to three different control groups, based on aggregated data from 2008–2012.

<p>Relative risks for spontaneous abortion and menstrual aberration of microelectronics workers compared to three different control groups, based on aggregated data from 2008–2012.</p

Annual numbers and rates per 1,000 for spontaneous abortion and menstrual aberration according to patient group, 2008–2012.

<p>Annual numbers and rates per 1,000 for spontaneous abortion and menstrual aberration according to patient group, 2008–2012.</p

Additional file 1: of Inequalities in oral health among adolescents in Gangneung, South Korea

Table S1. The characteristics of the participants by sociodemographic information in Gangneung. (DOCX 14 kb

Elderly Peritoneal Dialysis Compared with Elderly Hemodialysis Patients and Younger Peritoneal Dialysis Patients: Competing Risk Analysis of a Korean Prospective Cohort Study

<div><p>The outcomes of peritoneal dialysis (PD) in elderly patients have not been thoroughly investigated. We aimed to investigate the clinical outcomes and risk factors associated with PD in elderly patients. We conducted a prospective observational nationwide adult end-stage renal disease (ESRD) cohort study in Korea from August 2008 to March 2013. Among incident patients (n = 830), patient and technical survival rate, quality of life, and Beck’s Depression Inventory (BDI) scores of elderly PD patients (≥65 years, n = 95) were compared with those of PD patients aged ≤49 years (n = 205) and 50~64 years (n = 192); and elderly hemodialysis (HD) patients (n = 315). The patient death and technical failure were analyzed by cumulative incidence function. Competing risk regressions were used to assess the risk factors for survival. The patient survival rate of elderly PD patients was inferior to that of younger PD patients (P<0.001). However, the technical survival rate was similar (P = 0.097). Compared with elderly HD patients, the patient survival rate did not differ according to dialysis modality (P = 0.987). Elderly PD patients showed significant improvement in the BDI scores, as compared with the PD patients aged ≤49 years (P = 0.003). Low albumin, diabetes and low residual renal function were significant risk factors for the PD patient survival; and peritonitis was a significant risk factor for technical survival. Furthermore, low albumin and hospitalization were significant risk factors of patient survival among the elderly. The overall outcomes were similar between elderly PD and HD patients. PD showed the benefit in BDI and quality of life in the elderly. Additionally, the technical survival rate of elderly PD patients was similar to that of younger PD patients. Taken together, PD may be a comparable modality for elderly ESRD patients.</p></div

Competing risk model for patient death and technical failure of elderly (≥65 years) patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis (PD), as compared with younger PD patients and elderly hemodialysis (HD) patients.

<p>A. Comparison of patient death in younger (<65 years) patients undergoing PD. Transplantation and technical failure were considered competing risk events when examining patient death. B. Comparison of technical failure in younger (<65 years) patients undergoing PD. Patient death and transplantation were considered competing risk events when examining technical failure. C. Comparison of patient death in elderly patients undergoing HD. Transplantation was considered a competing risk event when examining patient death because there was no transplantation as a competing event in elderly patients.</p

Independent risk factors of patient death in elderly patients.

<p>*Variables that were adopted in the final stepwise-multivariate model alone were presented.</p><p>^a Adjusted for group (elderly PD vs. elderly HD), age, hemoglobin, albumin, 24-h urine volume, SGA, diabetes, and hospitalization.</p><p>Abbreviations: SHR, sub-hazard ratios; CI, confidence interval; PD, peritoneal dialysis; HD, hemodialysis; SGA, subjective global assessment; RRT, renal replacement therapy.</p><p>Independent risk factors of patient death in elderly patients.</p

Study flow.

<p>492 patients undergoing PD were enrolled and divided into 3 groups according to age (≤49 years, n = 205; 50~64 years, n = 192; ≥65 years, n = 95); 315 HD patients aged ≥65 years were enrolled for comparison with elderly PD patients.</p

Patient characteristics: age groups among peritoneal dialysis patients and peritoneal dialysis or hemodialysis groups in elderly patients.

<p>Data are presented as mean ± standard deviation or n (%).</p><p>^a Among the 3 PD groups.</p><p>^b Between the 2 elderly groups.</p><p>Abbreviations: PD, peritoneal dialysis; HD, hemodialysis; BP, blood pressure; BMI, body mass index; mCCI, modified Charlson co-morbidity index; KPS, Karnofsky Performance status; SGA, subjective global assessment; eGFR, estimated glomerular filtration rate.</p><p>Patient characteristics: age groups among peritoneal dialysis patients and peritoneal dialysis or hemodialysis groups in elderly patients.</p

Reasons for technical failure according to age groups among peritoneal dialysis patients.

<p>Abbreviations: PD, peritoneal dialysis.</p><p>Reasons for technical failure according to age groups among peritoneal dialysis patients.</p

Recalibration and Validation of the Charlson Comorbidity Index in Korean Incident Hemodialysis Patients

<div><p>Background</p><p>Weights assigned to comorbidities to predict mortality may vary based on the type of index disease and advances in the management of comorbidities. We aimed to develop a modified Charlson comorbidity index (CCI) in incident hemodialysis patients (mCCI-IHD), thereby improving risk stratification for mortality.</p><p>Methods</p><p>Data on 24,738 Koreans who received their first hemodialysis treatment between 2005 and 2008 were obtained from the Korean Health Insurance dataset. The mCCI-IHD score were calculated by summing up the weights which were assigned to individual comorbidities according to their relative prognostic significance determined by multivariate Cox proportional hazards model. The modified index was validated in an independent nationwide prospective cohort (n=1,100).</p><p>Results</p><p>The Cox proportional hazards model revealed that all comorbidities in the CCI except ulcers significantly predicted mortality. Thus, the mCCI-IHD included 14 comorbidities with re-assigned severity weights. In the validation cohort, both the CCI and the mCCI-IHD were correlated with mortality. However, the mCCI-IHD showed modest but significant increases in <i>c</i> statistics compared with the CCI at 6 months and 1 year. The analyses using continuous net reclassification improvement revealed that the mCCI-IHD improved net mortality risk reclassification by 24.6% (95% CI, 2.5-46.7; <i>P</i>=0.03), 26.2% (95% CI, 1.0-51.4; <i>P</i>=0.04) and 42.8% (95% CI, 4.9-80.8; <i>P</i>=0.03) with respect to the CCI at 6 months and 1 and 2 years, respectively.</p><p>Conclusions</p><p>The mCCI-IHD facilitates better risk stratification for mortality in incident hemodialysis patients compared with the CCI, suggesting that it may be a preferred index for use in clinical practice and the statistical analysis of epidemiological studies.</p></div