Use of Japanese Society for Dialysis Therapy dialysis tables to compare the local and national incidence of dialysis.

The Japanese Society for Dialysis Therapy generates many tables of data on dialysis patients in their annual reports. These tables, derived from over 37 000 patients who started dialysis in 2008, allow comparison of the local incidence of new dialysis patients with the national incidence by estimating a standardized incidence ratio and confidence interval. Since this method adjusts for age and gender, it may be useful to evaluate local strategies for managing chronic kidney disease, including the response to campaigns and local quality assurance. Furthermore, the end-stage renal disease population of other countries can also be directly compared by this method. That is, the age- and gender-adjusted incidence of dialysis can be calculated for another country and compared with the national data for Japan. This might be one step toward improving local care and preventing the progression of chronic kidney disease.