Regional mortality differences in end-stage renal disease: How far can observational studies take us?

Abstract

The survival of patients with ESRD living in various geographic regions is strikingly different. Efforts to determine the reasons behind this observation have been hampered by difficulties in adjusting for many characteristics that are inherently different in patient populations living on different continents. The mortality rate for the general population in a given region could be used to adjust for risk factors that would be otherwise difficult to quantify.