Aging is an important risk factor for peritoneal dialysis-associated peritonitis

Peritonitis remains a leading complication of peritoneal dialysis (PD). The aim of this observational retrospective cohort study, conducted at our single center, was to determine the risk factors for peritonitis. A Cox proportional hazards model was used for the multivariate analysis. The event investigated was peritonitis, and the variables studied were sex, age, diabetes mellitus, use of statins, and several laboratory values including albumin and total cholesterol. All PD patients who visited our clinic from January 2005 to September 2011 and who had complete medical records for at least 3 years were included. Among the 82 patients who met the criteria (mean period of observation: 1086 +/- 752 days; mean age: 62.0 +/- 12.3 years), 47 had experienced at least 1 episode of peritonitis. Aging was a significant risk factor for peritonitis, with a relative risk of 1.04 per year (p = 0.014). In our study, aging--rather than diabetes mellitus, efficiency of PD, or nutrition status--was an important risk factor for PD-associated peritonitis. Poor PD technique because of advanced age might be one of the reasons for this result.