Association between changes in VT scores and changes in the frequency of going out.

<p>The independent variable is the categories of SES (SES of “<0” as the reference standard). This Figure shows the results from model C2, in which the change in VT score was the only independent variable. Greater changes in VT scores were clearly associated with going out more frequently.</p

Demographic and clinical characteristics, and the frequency of going out.

<p>Demographic and clinical characteristics, and the frequency of going out.</p

Associations between the change in VT scores and the improvement in the frequency of going out (VT change score as the independent variable).

<p>Associations between the change in VT scores and the improvement in the frequency of going out (VT change score as the independent variable).</p

Association between changes in VT scores and changes in the frequency of going out.

<p>The independent variable is the categories of SES (SES of “<0” as the reference standard). This Figure shows the results from model E2, which was same as Model D2 except that patients whose values were at the floor at baseline were excluded. Compared with the results of model E2 (<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0040455#pone-0040455-g003" target="_blank">Figure 3</a>), the most noteworthy difference is that the magnitude of the association was somewhat attenuated in the highest of the four categories of VT increase. We interpret this result as indicating that the strong association between increases in VT scores and increases in the frequency of going out was not caused by regression to the mean.</p

Comparing all-cause, cardiovascular and infection-related mortality of deciles of serum ferritin.

<p>Cut-off levels: 21, 41, 67, 98, 133, 177, 232, 321, and 496 ng/mL. CV, cardiovascular.</p

Baseline characteristics of patients undergoing dialysis.

<p>Means±SD or medians and interquartile range (IQR)</p><p>Abbreviations: HD, hemodialysis; PD, peritoneal dialysis; TIBC, total iron binding capacity; TSAT, transferrin saturation; BUN, blood urea nitrogen; CRP, C-reactive protein; PTH, parathyroid hormone.</p><p>Baseline characteristics of patients undergoing dialysis.</p

Comparison of all-cause, cardiovascular and infection-related mortality rates of deciles of hemoglobin levels.

<p>Cut-off levels: 8.8, 9.4, 9.8, 10.1, 10.4, 10.7, 11.0, 11.3, and 11.9 g/dL. CV, cardiovascular.</p

Comparison of all-cause, cardiovascular and infection-related mortality of deciles of transferrin saturation.

<p>Cut-off levels: 13.1%, 17.1%, 20.2%, 23.0%, 25.7%, 28.6%, 32.1%, 36.7% and 44.8%. CV, cardiovascular; TSAT, transferrin saturation.</p

Baseline Characteristics of Subjects Compared Among Those with Different Functional Status (n = 7,664).

<p>Baseline Characteristics of Subjects Compared Among Those with Different Functional Status (n = 7,664).</p

Early Mortality Was Highly and Strongly Associated with Functional Status in Incident Japanese Hemodialysis Patients: A Cohort Study of the Large National Dialysis Registry

<div><p>Background</p><p>Although dialysis is typically started in an effort to prolong survival, mortality is reportedly high in the first few months. However, it remains unclear whether this is true in Japanese patients who tend to have a better prognosis than other ethnicities, and if health conditions such as functional status (FS) at initiation of dialysis influence prognosis.</p><p>Methods</p><p>We investigated the epidemiology of early death and its association with FS using Japanese national registry data in 2007, which included 35,415 patients on incident dialysis and 7,664 with FS data. The main outcome was early death, defined as death within 3 months after initiation of hemodialysis (HD). The main predictor was FS at initiation of HD. Levels of functional disability were categorized as follows: severe (bedridden), moderate (overt difficulties in exerting basic activities of daily living), or mild/none (none or some functional disabilities).</p><p>Results</p><p>Early death remained relatively common, especially among elderly patients (overall: 7.1%; those aged ≥80 years: 15.8%). Severely and even only a moderately impaired FS were significantly associated with early death after starting dialysis (adjusted risk ratios: 3.93 and 2.38, respectively). The incidence of early death in those with impaired FS increased with age (36.5% in those with severely impaired FS and aged ≥80 years).</p><p>Conclusions</p><p>Early death after starting dialysis was relatively common, especially among the elderly, even in Japanese patients. Further, early death was significantly associated with impaired FS at initiation of HD.</p></div