Analysis of mortality risk from Korean hemodialysis registry data 2017

The End-stage Renal Disease Registry Committee of the Korean Society of Nephrology collects data on the dialysis therapy in Korea through an internet-based registry program and reports it annually. In this article, the method and clinical implications of the mortality hazard ratio analyses of various clinical parameters in the 2017 registry report have been described, with the inclusion of data on four additional parameters. The mortality risk based on clinical parameters was analyzed only for hemodialysis patients. The number of registered patients with laboratory data was 13,943 (8,446 male and 5,497 female patients), and death was reported in 3,139 patients. Analysis of the effects of various clinical parameters on mortality was performed using non-linear Cox proportional hazard model with the R statistics program. For all clinical parameters, univariate and adjusted multivariate hazard ratio analyses were performed. Analysis of the mortality hazard ratio showed that low body mass index, low hemoglobin, low serum albumin, low serum phosphorus, and low urea reduction ratio were associated with a significantly increased mortality risk, whereas paradoxically high serum creatinine levels were associated with low mortality risk.