Clinical characteristics of diabetic patients who were started on dialysis at the age of <60 years: A questionnaire-based study conducted in Okinawa

Abstract

In collaboration with the Okinawa Dialysis Physicians Association, we studied diabetic dialysis patients who were started on dialysis at the age of <60 years in Okinawa. A questionnaire was sent to 56 units, and responses were obtained from 33 of them. Of a total of 2,235 patients, 167 (7.5%) patients were considered to be targets. We analyzed 103 of them with full information. The subjects’ mean (SD) ages at the diagnosis of diabetes mellitus (DM) and the start of dialysis were 32.3 (9.5) and 47.7 (6.8) years, respectively, and their maximum body mass index before the diagnosis of DM was 31.4 (6.5) kg/m². Fifty-four percent of the subjects had a history of treatment withdrawal for at least 1 year. In particular, treatment withdrawal was common among those who were diagnosed with DM during mass screening, and about half of them had received no treatment for >10 years. In conclusion, to prevent end-stage renal disease in young people that have been diagnosed with obesity and DM, health education and continuous follow-up are necessary together with effective measures involving clinicians, policymakers, and the community.