Trends in home dialysis use differ among age categories in past two decades: A Dutch registry study

Background Although the number of patients with end‐stage kidney disease is growing, the number of patients who perform dialysis at home has decreased during the past two decades. The aim of this study was to explore time trends in the use of home dialysis in the Netherlands. Methods Dialysis episodes of patients who started dialysis treatment were studied using Dutch registry data (RENINE). The uptake of home dialysis between 1997 through 2016 was evaluated in time periods of 5 years. Home dialysis was defined as start with peritoneal dialysis or home haemodialysis, or transfer to either within 2 years of dialysis initiation. All analyses were stratified for age categories. Mixed model logistic regression analysis was used to adjust for clustering at patient level. Results A total of 33 340 dialysis episodes in 31 569 patients were evaluated. Mean age at dialysis initiation increased from 62.5 ± 14.0 to 65.5 ± 14.5 years in in‐centre haemodialysis patients, whereas it increased from 51.9 ± 15.1 to 62.5 ± 14.6 years in home dialysis patients. In patients