Yearly Increase in Renal Replacement Therapy Population Slowing

The percentage of early dialysis starts—defined as the initiation of renal replacement therapy (RRT) at an eGFR ≥10 mL/min/1.73 m²—grew from 19% to 54% of all new starts between 1996 and 2009 but stabilized between 2009 and 2011. Similarly, the incident RRT population increased between 1996 and 2005, with early dialysis starts accounting for most of the increase. Between 2005 and 2010, the increase slowed dramatically. The JASN results suggest that later dialysis starts and greater use of conservative and palliative care will continue to attenuate the increase in the RRT population observed in previous years.