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Physical inactivity contributes to the frailty and the decline in function that develops over time among patients with end-stage renal disease. We assessed physical activity among 1547 ambulatory patients new to dialysis in the United States Renal Data System Comprehensive Dialysis Study. We used a self-reporting Human Activity Profile that included Maximal and Adjusted Activity Scores and compared results to established norms by age and gender. Physical activity was found to be extremely low with scores for all age and gender categories below the 5th percentile of healthy individuals and 95% of patients had scores consonant with low fitness. Older age, female gender, diabetes, atherosclerotic disease, and a low level of education were associated with lower activity scores assessed by univariate and multivariable linear regression analysis. Higher serum albumin, creatinine, and lower body mass index, but not hemoglobin levels, were associated with greater physical activity. By multivariable analysis, patients on hemodialysis using a catheter reported lower levels of physical activity compared to those on peritoneal dialysis, hemodialysis using an arteriovenous fistula, or with a graft. Lower Maximal and Adjusted Activity Scores were associated with poor physical function and mental health. Hence, physical activity is distressingly low among patients new to dialysis. Thus, strategies to enhance activity in these patients should be explored.

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) affect a high proportion of the elderly population with an increasing prevalence. Sleep disturbances are frequent in those with MCI and AD. This review summarizes existing research on sleep disturbances and neuroinflammation in MCI and AD. Although strong evidence supports various pathways linking sleep and AD pathology, the temporal direction of this central relationship is not yet known. Improved understanding of sleep disturbance and neuroinflammation in MCI and AD may aid in the identification of targets for their prevention.

At 6 months poststroke, most patients cannot incorporate their affected hand into daily activities, which in turn is likely to reduce their perceived quality of life. This preliminary study explored change in patient-reported, health-related quality of life associated with robotic-assisted therapy combined with reduced therapist-supervised training. A single-blind, multi-site, randomized clinical trial was conducted. Seventeen individuals who were 3 to 9 months poststroke participated. Sixty hours of therapist-supervised repetitive task practice (RTP) was compared with 30 hours of RTP combined with 30 hours of robotic-assisted therapy. Participants completed the Stroke Impact Scale (SIS) at baseline, immediately postintervention, and 2 months postintervention. Change in SIS score domains was assessed in a mixed model analysis. The combined therapy group had a greater increase in rating of mood from preintervention to postintervention, and the RTP-only group had a greater increase in rating of social participation from preintervention to follow-up. Both groups had statistically significant improvement in activities of daily living and instrumental activities of daily living scores from preintervention to postintervention. Both groups reported significant improvement in hand function postintervention and at follow-up, and the magnitude of these changes suggested clinical significance. The combined therapy group had significant improvements in stroke recovery rating postintervention and at follow-up, which appeared clinically significant; this also was true for stroke recovery rating from preintervention to follow-up in the RTP-only group. LIMITATIONS OUTCOMES: of 30 hours of RTP in the absence of robotic-assisted therapy remain unknown. Robotic-assisted therapy may be an effective alternative or adjunct to the delivery of intensive task practice interventions to enhance hand function recovery in patients with stroke.

We estimated the survival and hospitalization among frequent hemodialysis users in comparison to those patients undergoing thrice-weekly conventional hemodialysis. All patients had similar characteristics and medical histories. In this cohort study of frequent hemodialysis users and propensity score–matched controls, the collaborating clinicians identified 94 patients who used nocturnal hermodialysis (NHD) and 43 patients who used short-duration daily hemodialysis (SDHD) for a minimum of 60 days. Ten propensity score–matched control patients for each NHD and SDHD patient were identified from the United States Renal Data System database. Primary outcomes were risk for all-cause mortality and risk for the composite outcome of mortality or major morbid event (acute myocardial infarction or stroke) estimated using Cox proportional hazards models. Risks for all-cause, cardiovascular-related, infection-related, and vascular access–related hospital admissions were also studied. Nocturnal hemodialysis was associated with significant reductions in mortality risk and risk for mortality or major morbid event when compared to conventional hemodialysis. There was a reduced but non-significant risk of death for patients using SDHD compared to controls. All-cause and specific hospitalizations did not differ significantly between NHD and SDHD patients and their matched control cohorts. Our study suggests that NHD may improve patient survival.

This study was undertaken to describe the association of patient race/ethnicity and renal allograft survival among the national cohort of pediatric renal allograft recipients. Additionally, we determined whether racial and ethnic differences in graft survival exist among individuals living in low- or high-poverty neighborhoods and those with private or public insurance. Among 6216 incident, pediatric end-stage renal disease patients in the United States Renal Data System (kidney transplant from 2000 through September, 2011), 14.4% experienced graft failure, with a median follow-up time of 4.5 years. After controlling for multiple covariates, black race, but not Hispanic ethnicity, was significantly associated with a higher rate of graft failure for both deceased and living donor transplant recipients. Disparities were particularly stark by 5 years post transplant, when black living donor transplant recipients experienced only 63.0% graft survival compared with 82.8 and 80.8% for Hispanics and whites, respectively. These disparities persisted among high- and low-poverty neighborhoods and among both privately and publicly insured patients. Notably profound declines in both deceased and living donor graft survival rates for black, compared with white and Hispanic, children preceded the 3-year mark when transplant Medicare eligibility ends. Further research is needed to identify the unique barriers to long-term graft success among black pediatric transplant recipients.

In order to evaluate the factors that contributed to missed dialysis sessions and increased hospitalizations of hemodialysis patients after Hurricane Katrina, we contacted 386 patients from 9 New Orleans hemodialysis units. Data were collected through structured telephone interviews on socio-demographics, dialysis factors, and evacuation characteristics. Overall, 44% of patients reported missing at least one and almost 17% reported missing 3 or more dialysis sessions. The likelihood of missing 3 or more sessions was greater for those whose dialysis vintage was less than 2 years compared to those for whom it was 5 or more years, who had 38 or fewer billed dialysis sessions compared to those who had 39 or more in the 3 months before the storm, who lived alone before the storm, who were unaware of their dialysis facility's emergency plans, who did not evacuate prior to hurricane landfall, and who were placed in a shelter. The adjusted odds ratio of hospitalization among patients who missed 3 or more compared to those who did not miss any dialysis sessions was 2.16 (95% CI: 1.05–4.43). These findings suggest that when preparing for future disasters more emphasis needs to be placed on patient awareness and early execution of emergency plans.

Enabling patient ability to work was a key rationale for enacting the United States (US) Medicare program that provides financial entitlement to renal replacement therapy for persons with end-stage kidney disease (ESKD). However, fewer than half of working-age individuals in the US report the ability to work after starting maintenance hemodialysis (HD). Quality improvement is a well-established objective in oversight of the dialysis program, but a more patient-centered quality assessment approach is increasingly advocated. The ESKD Quality Incentive Program (QIP) initiated in 2012 emphasizes clinical performance indicators, but a newly-added measure requires the monitoring of patient depression—an issue that is important for work ability and employment. We investigated depression scores and four dialysis-specific QIP measures in relation to work ability reported by a multi-clinic cohort of 528 working-age maintenance HD patients. The prevalence of elevated depression scores was substantially higher among patients who said they were not able to work, while only one of the four dialysis-specific clinical measures differed for patients able/not able to work. Ability to work may be among patients’ top priorities. As the parameters of quality assessment continue to evolve, increased attention to patient priorities might facilitate work ability and employment outcomes.

IntroductionExcessive daytime sleepiness is a debilitating symptom of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) linked to cardiovascular disease, and metabolomic mechanisms underlying this relationship remain unknown. We examine whether metabolites from inflammatory and oxidative stress-related pathways that were identified in our prior work could be involved in connecting the two phenomena.MethodsThis study included 57 sleepy (Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) ≥ 10) and 37 non-sleepy (ESS < 10) participants newly diagnosed and untreated for OSA that completed an overnight in-lab or at home sleep study who were recruited from the Emory Mechanisms of Sleepiness Symptoms Study (EMOSS). Differences in fasting blood samples of metabolites were explored in participants with sleepiness versus those without and multiple linear regression models were utilized to examine the association between metabolites and mean arterial pressure (MAP).ResultsThe 24-h MAP was higher in sleepy 92.8 mmHg (8.4) as compared to non-sleepy 88.8 mmHg (8.1) individuals (P = 0.03). Although targeted metabolites were not significantly associated with MAP, when we stratified by sleepiness group, we found that sphinganine is significantly associated with MAP (Estimate = 8.7, SE = 3.7, P = 0.045) in non-sleepy patients when controlling for age, BMI, smoking status, and apnea-hypopnea index (AHI).ConclusionThis is the first study to evaluate the relationship of inflammation and oxidative stress related metabolites in sleepy versus non-sleepy participants with newly diagnosed OSA and their association with 24-h MAP. Our study suggests that Sphinganine is associated with 24 hour MAP in the non-sleepy participants with OSA.

BackgroundFalls among patients undergoing maintenance hemodialysis (HD) have significant consequences for quality of life and functional independence, morbidity, healthcare utilization and even mortality, but studies on the etiology of falls within large HD cohorts are limited.MethodsFalls during the past 12 months were ascertained for a prevalent multi-center HD cohort (n = 762) aged 20–92 years, and associations with demographic and treatment characteristics, comorbidities, cognitive function, prescribed medications, balance tests, frailty and depressive symptoms were assessed.ResultsFalls were sustained by 28.4% of participants. In multivariable-adjusted analyses, participants classified as frail were over two times more likely to report falls [odds ratio (OR): 2.39, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.22–4.71, P = 0.01], and participants with a CES-D score 18+ and/or prescribed antidepressants were over 80% more likely to be fallers (OR: 1.83, 95% CI: 1.23–2.74, P = 0.003) than were participants with a CES-D score <18 and no prescribed antidepressants.ConclusionsFrailty and depressed mood, factors that are potentially modifiable, are prominently associated with falls.

Background/Aims: US registry data have consistently shown that blacks are less likely than whites to be wait-listed before beginning dialysis. Methods: The Comprehensive Dialysis Study (CDS) was a special study conducted by the US Renal Data System (USRDS) in which a national cohort of patients who began maintenance dialysis therapy in 2005–2007 were asked whether kidney transplantation (KT) had been discussed with them before they started dialysis. Using responses from black and white CDS participants and information from the USRDS, we investigated preemptive wait-listing as a function of patient-reported predialysis KT discussion. Results: Among those reporting early KT discussion, 31.0% of patients preemptively wait-listed were black, compared to 27.5% of those not preemptively wait-listed. Two thirds of preemptively wait-listed patients had received nephrology care more than 12 months before starting dialysis and reported that KT was discussed with them 12 months or more before dialysis. Early KT discussion and higher serum albumin and hemoglobin levels remained significant predictors of preemptive wait-listing in an adjusted logistic regression analysis. Among those preemptively wait-listed, 33% of blacks and 60% of whites had received a transplant by September 30, 2009 (study end date). Conclusion: Early KT discussion appeared to reduce barriers to black patients’ waiting list placement before the start of dialysis, which in turn may facilitate earlier access to a deceased donor organ transplant.