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OBJECTIVE: Peritoneal dialysis is a renal replacement therapy in patients with end stage renal disease
and the characteristics of patients may affect their survival. The aim of this study was to investigate
the effect of age, gender, education level and fi nancial status on patient survival in patients undergoing
peritoneal dialysis at the our nephology clinic.
MATERIAL and METHODS: The medical fi les of a total of 313 peritoneal dialysis patients were
retrospectively evaluated. Age, gender, education level and fi nancial status were reported. The effect of these
parameters on patient survival was tested was analyzed using the chi-square test and Mann-Whitney U test.
RESULTS: The mean age at the start of dialysis was 51.9 ± 17.6 years and the mean dialysis duration
was 27.5 ± 27.1 (median: 20, range: 3-166) months. A total of 58 (18.5%) patients had died. Total
194 (62%) patients were male and 119 (38%) were female. A total of 106 patients were not literate,
163 patients had graduated from primary school, 39 patients from middle school, and 5 patients from
higher school. The mortality rates in these patients were 17.9%, 22%, 7.7% and 0%, respectively.
The fi nancial status was good in 58 (18.6%) patients, moderate in 187 (59.7%) patients and poor in
68 (21.7%) patients. A total of 163 (52.1%) patients were living at rural areas and 150 (47.9%) were
living at urban areas. The mortality rate decreased with young age (p=0.002) and high education level
(p=0.045). There was no relationship between mortality and gender, living in rural or urban areas, or
fi nancial status (p>0.05).
CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that increasing the education level of patients may improve their survival.