Diaverum’s study reveals factors associated with incidence and severity of COVID-19 in CKD patients

Diaverum, a leading global renal care service provider headquartered in Sweden, has conducted a large multi-national study that determines factors affecting incidence and outcome of COVID-19 in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) receiving hemodialysis treatment.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a particularly hard impact on patients with chronic diseases. Worldwide, almost 3 million people receive regular dialysis treatment, with preliminary reports indicating that mortality from COVID-19 is especially high among these patients.

Dr Fernando Macário, Diaverum’s chief medical officer, said: “The results of our study indicate that patients with chronic kidney disease are among the groups with the greatest risk for serious complications and should therefore be granted the highest priority for preventive measures against COVID-19, including early vaccination.”

The study, comprising more than 38,000 dialysis patients, is one of the largest multi-national investigations of COVID-19 incidence and complications in hemodialysis patients to date. Some key findings are:

• older age and treatment with angiotensin II receptor antagonists among hemodialysis patients are associated with lower incidence of COVID-19; while overweight, living in a nursing home and a lower educational level show correlation with a higher incidence;

• increased mortality among hemodialysis patients with COVID-19 was associated with older age, previous cardiovascular disease, longer time on dialysis and male sex; while mortality tracked lower in patients with AV-fistulas compared to other dialysis access types.

Dr Mathias Haarhaus, Diaverum’s director for science and research development and coordinator of the current study, said: “Our presence in 22 countries enables us to study the effect of socio-economic and cultural differences on the severity of the disease. By using our resources and by evaluating the Diaverum preventive strategy, we hope to contribute to the worldwide fight against the pandemic, with meaningful scientific knowledge.”

The full results from Diaverum’s COVID-19 study –  ‘Risks prediction of COVID-19 incidence, and mortality in a large multi-national hemodialysis cohort: Implications for management of the pandemic in outpatient hemodialysis settings’ – have been published in the Clinical Kidney Journal, an official organ of the European Renal Association-European Dialysis and Transplantation Association and a leading scientific journal in nephrology. The results are also available on Diaverum’s global website.

As COVID-19 vaccination campaigns continue to be rolled out around the world,  Diaverum is now preparing an observational study of the efficacy and safety of COVID-19 vaccines in hemodialysis patients.

The company continues to work closely with national health systems in the country it operates to ensure that these patients are assigned high priority for COVID-19 vaccination.

For media inquiries:

Bruno Pamplona Polizio
Director of Global Communications
bruno.polizio@diaverum.com
+44 (0) 7874 853405

About Diaverum:

Diaverum provides life enhancing renal care to patients with Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD), enabling them to live fulfilling lives. Diaverum is a leading global provider in renal care services and the largest independent provider in Europe, and we help some 39,000 patients with 6 million treatments annually. Our focus is haemodialysis, but we offer a portfolio of treatments ranging from preventive care, peritoneal dialysis and home care to coordination of patients’ comorbidities and transplantation services.

CKD is a global and escalating challenge today affecting about 10% of the world’s adult population. It’s primarily caused by lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, and the prevalence is increasing in particular in developing countries. CKD disproportionately affects low income individuals and we ensure that our clinics are a safe and familiar space where all our patients are made to feel welcome.

Diaverum’s vision is to transform renal care, to offer the highest quality of care and empower patients to live a fulfilling life. We work together with payers to reduce total cost of care while partnering with local communities to educate around health and the value of prevention.

At the centre of what we do is our standardised, proprietary care delivery model, enabled by a continuously evolving digital infrastructure. We strive to ensure superior medical outcomes exceeding those demanded by national healthcare systems and we support patients by improving personalized care, ease of use and new services through technology.

Diaverum employs more than 11,000 employees and operates more than 420 clinics in 22 countries globally. Diaverum has its head office in Malmö, Sweden.

http://www.diaverum.com/