Characteristics of End-Stage Kidney Disease in a Cohort of Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Adults in Northwestern Ontario, Canada

Background: In Canada, the prevalence of chronic kidney disease is two-fold higher among Indigenous than non-Indigenous people. Direct comparisons of clinical characteristics between Indigenous and nonIndigenous end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) patients have not been previously conducted. We compared demographic and clinical characteristics of Indigenous and non-Indigenous adults with ESKD receiving dialysis at the primary hospital serving a region with 20% Indigenous population. Methods: During 4 years, 186 adults with ESKD were recruited for a clinical trial to analyze the response to pneumococcal immunization. Demographic and clinical data, including age, sex, residency, dialysis characteristics, etiology for chronic kidney disease, comorbidities, history of infections and prior pneumococcal immunization were compared between 91 Indigenous and 94 non-Indigenous individuals.