Dialysis vintage is associated with a high prevalence and severity of unpleasant symptoms in patients on hemodialysis

Figures & data

Table 1. Baseline characteristics of patients across Group1/Group2.

	Overall	Group 1	Group 2
	(n = 146)	(n = 35)	(n = 111)	P-value
Age (mean ± SD), years	60 ± 11	58 ± 12	60 ± 10	0.22
Sex, % male	59	51	61	0.30
Vintage (min-max), months	2–298	≤12	>12	<0.01
Median (IQR)	80 (14, 116)	9 (5, 11)	93 (73, 121)
Mean ± SD	81 ± 61	9 ± 3	104 ± 52
DSI score (min-max)	12–106	12–74	21–106	<0.01
Median (IQR)	38 (30, 47)	32 (26, 41)	40 (32, 47)
Mean ± SD	42 ± 17	36 ± 14	44 ± 17
Diabetes (%)	64	63	65	0.83
Access (%)
AVG/AVF	88	86	88	0.69
Catheter	12	14	12
Marital status (%)
Married	43	46	42	0.94
Single	45	43	46
Other	12	11	12
BMI (mean ± SD), kg/m^2	28.5 ± 2.9	28.4 ± 3.2	28.6 ± 2.8	0.85
Post weight (mean ± SD), lbs	162 ± 14	160 ± 15	163 ± 13	0.32

SD: standard deviation; AVG/AVF: arteriovenous graft/arteriovenous fistula; BMI: body mass index; kg/m², kilogram/meter squared; Post weight: post-dialysis weight; lbs: pounds.

Table 2. Regression coefficients of dialysis symptom index scores based on 9 independent variables.

	Unadjusted		Adjusted
Modle	Coefficient (95% CI)	P	Coefficient (95% CI)	P
Age	–0.01 (–0.27 to 0.26)	0.98	–0.11 (–0.30 to 0.08)	0.26
Sex	0.70 (–4.95 to 6.36)	0.81	2.40 (–1.66 to 6.45)	0.24
Vintage	0.20 (0.17 to 0.23)	<0.01	0.19 (0.16 to 0.23)	<0.01
Diabetes	–5.21 (–10.94 to 0.51)	0.07	–1.02 (–5.24 to 3.20)	0.63
Access	3.05 (–5.40 to 11.50)	0.48
Marital status
Married	3.55 (–5.72 to 12.82)	0.45
Single	5.48 (–3.74 to 14.71)	0.24
BMI	0.21 (–0.75 to 1.17)	0.66
Post weight	0.29 (0.09 to 0.48)	<0.01	0.09 (–0.06 to 0.24)	0.26

BMI: body mass index; Post weight: post-dialysis weight.

Figure 1. Prevalence of individual symptoms across the overall cohort.

Figure 2. Prevalence of individual symptoms across group 1.

Figure 3. Prevalence of individual symptoms across group 2.

Table 3. Scores of individual symptoms across Group1/Group2.

Individual symptoms	Overall (mean ± SD)	Group1 (mean ± SD)	Group 2 (mean ± SD)	P-value
Itching	1.77 ± 1.53	1.37 ± 1.48	1.89 ± 1.53	0.08
Dry skin	2.01 ± 1.37	1.77 ± 1.20	2.09 ± 1.42	0.24
Trouble falling asleep	2.03 ± 1.44	1.94 ± 1.53	2.05 ± 1.41	0.69
Trouble staying asleep	1.59 ± 1.41	1.29 ± 1.47	1.68 ± 1.38	0.15
Numbness or tingling in feet	1.02 ± 1.22	0.97 ± 1.11	1.04 ± 1.25	0.79
Muscle cramps	1.51 ± 1.36	1.34 ± 1.47	1.56 ± 1.32	0.42
Swelling in legs	1.06 ± 1.18	1.03 ± 1.11	1.07 ± 1.21	0.85
Restless legs or difficulty keeping legs still	0.97 ± 1.33	0.94 ± 1.33	0.97 ± 1.33	0.91
Bone or joint pain	0.86 ± 1.24	0.80 ± 1.09	0.87 ± 1.28	0.76
Shortness of breath	1.24 ± 1.41	1.20 ± 1.12	1.25 ± 1.49	0.85
Cough	1.03 ± 1.32	0.97 ± 1.18	1.05 ± 1.36	0.75
Muscle screness	1.33 ± 1.47	0.97 ± 1.46	1.44 ± 1.45	0.10
Feeling tired or lack of energy	2.01 ± 1.22	1.86 ± 1.17	2.05 ± 1.24	0.41
Feeling anxious	1.66 ± 1.45	1.20 ± 1.21	1.80 ± 1.48	<0.05
Feeling irritable	1.33 ± 1.50	1.26 ± 1.32	1.35 ± 1.56	0.75
Feeling sad	1.79 ± 1.40	1.26 ± 1.29	1.96 ± 1.39	<0.01
Difficulty concentrating	1.17 ± 1.39	0.89 ± 1.41	1.26 ± 1.37	0.17
Headache	1.15 ± 1.45	1.03 ± 1.42	1.19 ± 1.46	0.57
Decreased appetite	1.22 ± 1.39	1.00 ± 1.26	1.29 ± 1.42	0.29
Diarrhea	1.29 ± 1.56	1.00 ± 1.41	1.38 ± 1.59	0.21
Nausea	1.51 ± 1.43	1.26 ± 1.25	1.59 ± 1.48	0.24
Vomiting	1.06 ± 1.47	1.03 ± 1.46	1.07 ± 1.47	0.88
Dry mouth	1.55 ± 1.31	1.37 ± 1.12	1.61 ± 1.36	0.35
Constipation	1.18 ± 1.50	1.17 ± 1.25	1.19 ± 1.57	0.95
Chest pain	1.14 ± 1.56	0.91 ± 1.52	1.21 ± 1.56	0.34
Lightheadedness or dizziness	1.26 ± 1.49	1.14 ± 1.50	1.30 ± 1.48	0.60
Worrying	1.42 ± 1.38	0.89 ± 0.98	1.59 ± 1.44	<0.05
Feeling nervous	1.63 ± 1.60	1.14 ± 1.53	1.78 ± 1.59	<0.01
Decreased interest in sex	1.55 ± 1.55	1.34 ± 1.47	1.62 ± 1.57	0.36
Difficulty becoming sexually aroused	1.66 ± 1.57	1.54 ± 1.42	1.70 ± 1.61	0.60

Figure 4. (Pearson) correlation analysis between individual symptoms.

Table 4. Key clinical characteristics across Group1/Group2.

Laboratory parameters	Overall (mean ± SD)	Group1 (mean ± SD)	Group 2 (mean ± SD)	p-Value
Hb (g/dl)	11.5 ± 0.4	11.9 ± 0.3	11.7 ± 0.4	<0.05
Tsat (%)	25 ± 4	26 ± 4	25 ± 3	<0.05
spKt/V	1.43 ± 0.11	1.51 ± 0.12	1.40 ± 0.10	<0.01
Albumin (g/l)	42.4 ± 4.8	44.5 ± 6.0	42.9 ± 4.3	0.08
Phosphorus (mg/dl)	4.8 ± 1.5	4.7 ± 1.6	4.9 ± 1.4	0.49
Calcium (mg/dl)	8.9 ± 1.1	9.1 ± 1.2	9.0 ± 1.1	0.40
Creatinine (mg/dl)	7.9 ± 0.8	7.8 ± 0.8	8.1 ± 0.9	0.08
PTH (pg/mL)	352 ± 186	309 ± 166	369 ± 190	0.10

Data availability statment

The data that support the findings of this study are not publicly available due to containing information that could compromise the privacy of research participants. Further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author.