Depression Symptoms Do Not Worsen Over Time in a Cohort of CKD Patients: The BRINK Study.

Background: The prevalence of depression is high in the chronic kidney disease (CKD) (20-40%) and dialysis (30-50%) populations. Less is known about how depressive symptoms change over time in patients with CKD.

Methods: Participants in the Brain in Kidney Disease (BRINK) cohort study completed a depressive symptom questionnaire (PHQ-9) and serum creatinine testing annually.

Comparing Medicare Fee-for-Service Beneficiaries with ESKD who Switched to Medicare Advantage versus Remained in Traditional Medicare.

Patients choosing Medicare Advantage vs. Medicare fee-for-service (FFS) differ with respect to race, socioeconomic status, and burden of disease. However, it is unclear whether these differences also occur among patients with kidney failure, who were newly allowed to switch to Medicare Advantage after the 21st Century Cares Act.

Increased Access, Persistent Disparities: Trends in Disparities in Peritoneal Dialysis (PD) Use, 2009-2019.

Peritoneal dialysis (PD) use has increased in the United States since 2009, but how this has affected disparities in PD use is unclear. We used data from the United States Renal Data System to identify a cohort of incident dialysis patients from 2009 to 2019. We used logistic regression models to examine how odds of PD use changed by demographic characteristics.