Patient survival on dialysis in Korea: a different story?

In a propensity score-matched analysis of their cohort study including more than 32,000 hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis patients in South Korea, Kim and colleagues found that mortality risk was higher in peritoneal dialysis than in hemodialysis patients aged 55 years or older. Among younger patients, survival was similar for both treatment modalities. These findings are in contrast to most results from studies in Western countries. We discuss a number of factors that may explain these differences.