Comorbidities, Hospitalization, and Living Status of Dialysis Patients Over 80 Years

An increasing number of patients start dialysis when they are over 80 years or reaches their eighties on dialysis. The burden of dialysis can affect their quality of life.

Clinical and social data of all patients aged 80 years or older who underwent chronic dialysis treatment in a single center were analyzed.

Fifty-nine patients aged between 80 and 92 years were in chronic dialysis treatment on December 31, 2015. Median time on dialysis was 57 months (3-330 months). Hospitalization rate and days in hospital were lower in this group than in younger patients (1.05 vs. 1.34 hospitalizations; 8.3 vs. 9.0 hospital days per patient and year) despite the presence of many comorbidities. The median patency of the currently used arteriovenous shunt was 70 months (6-194 months). Social status was comparable with the population of the rest of the same average age range.

Dialysis patients aged ≥80 years have a satisfactory quality of life with no more complications than younger patients.