The total
cumulative number of follow-ups registered for prevalent ESKD pts treated by HD
was 95,575 out of 25,130 pts; we have VA information for most of the follow-ups
(93.1%, 88,980/95,575). The number of prevalent HD pts increased from 3104 in
1997 to 4270 in 2021.
The distribution of the VA
used for performing HD in 2021 was also different in men vs women: fistula AVF (58.1%,
n=1465 vs 45.6%, n=657), graft (1.8%, n=45 vs 3.5%, n=51) and tunnelled catheter (35.8%,
n=903 vs 45.8%, n=660) (for all comparisons, p<0.001); there were no
differences for non-tunnelled catheter (4.3%, n=107 vs 5.0%,
n=72) (p=0.15). In addition, the type of AVF was different in men vs women:
radiocephalic AVF (53.9% vs 40.9%) and brachial artery-based AVF (46.1% vs
59.1%) (p<0.001).
The percentage of pts who
required at least one hospital admission or outpatient procedure for any VA pathology
in 2021 was similar when comparing men [7.3% (n=180) and 19.6% (n=456),
respectively] and women [8.6% (n=122) and 19.3% (260), respectively] (p=0.34
and p=0.38, respectively).
Regarding the total cumulative
number
of VA used for HD, the percentage of pts who used only one VA was higher for
men (50.4%, n=1265) than women (47.1%, n=663); however, this difference is
reversed when the percentage of pts who used ≥4 VA was calculated: 11.5%
(n=289) vs 14.4% (n=203) (for all comparisons, p=0.001). The percentage of pts
who have been dialyzed through AVF at some point over time was higher for men
(69.2%, n=1889) than women (62.6%, n=964) (p<0.001)
The probability of performing HD through AVF in 2021 was independently associated with male gender (odds
ratio 1.58 [95% confidence interval: 1.36–1.82], p<0.001) after adjusting for age, time on HD, primary kidney
disease, cardiovascular disease, functional status and body mass index
(multivariate logistic regression analysis).
The percentage of both
men and women on HD through AVF decreased progressively from 1997 (89.1% and
81.3%, respectively) to 2021 (58.1% and 45.6%, respectively) (for both comparisons,
p<0.001). The percentage of
prevalent men on HD with AVF was always higher over time than that of women
from 1997 (89.1% vs 58.1%) to 2021 (81.3% vs 45.6%) (for both comparisons,
p<0.001).
