2024 Volume 57 Issue 2 Pages 51-67
[Purpose] We sought to clarify the reasons for the decrease in the total number of dialysis patients in Japan in 2022. [Subject] Survey values for each year were obtained using the Web-based Analysis of Dialysis Data Archives (WADDA) system. These values were then adjusted for response rates based on the number of facilities. General population statistics for Japan were obtained from e-Stat of the Statistics Bureau, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. [Methods] We compared the prevalence, morbidity, and mortality rates of dialysis patients according to sex and age. We also examined trends in the number of deaths by major causes of death. [Results] The prevalence rates of dialysis among people aged≥65 years, which had been on the rise before 2020, have been decreasing since 2020. Morbidity rates have consistently decreased. Mortality rates, which had been decreasing before 2020, increased for all ages after 2020. Since 2020, the number of deaths due to infectious diseases and the number of deaths due to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia have rapidly increased. [Conclusion] The decrease in the number of dialysis patients in Japan in 2022 could be attributed to an increase in the number of deaths due to COVID-19 pneumonia after 2020.
