Impact of late-stage CKD and aging on medical utilization in the elderly population: a closed-cohort study in Taiwan.

Background: Taiwan has the highest incidence and prevalence of end-stage renal disease globally, especially in the elderly population. The elderly with chronic kidney disease (CKD) also had high mortality. However, population-based research on how the elderly with CKD utilize medical services is still unexplored.

Early nephrology referral is associated with prolonged survival in hemodialysis patients even after exclusion of lead-time bias.

Background: Early nephrology referral (ER) has been suggested to lower morbidity and mortality in dialysis patients, but the nature of the association has been criticized as possibly because of lead-time bias. This study aims to evaluate if ER is associated with improved survival of hemodialysis patients when the lead-time bias is excluded.

Methods: A total of 192 hemodialysis patients from a medical center and a regional hospital were enrolled in the period from January 1997 to December 2006.

Health-related quality of life in Taiwanese dialysis patients: effects of dialysis modality.

Taiwan has the highest incidence and prevalence of end-stage renal disease worldwide. However, not many studies have focused on the influence of dialysis modality on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) for dialysis patients in Taiwan. This study intended to compare the differences in HRQoL between peritoneal dialysis (PD) and hemodialysis (HD) and to evaluate the effects of dialysis modality on patient HRQoL.

Increased risk of mortality in the elderly population with late-stage chronic kidney disease: a cohort study in Taiwan.

Background: Taiwan has the world's highest incidence and second highest prevalence of end-stage renal disease (ESRD), particularly in older age groups. However, the transition from chronic kidney disease (CKD) to death or ESRD remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the impact of late-stage CKD on all-cause and cause-specific mortality by identifying the CKD population.