Prevalence, treatment patterns, and healthcare resource utilization in Medicare and commercially insured non-dialysis-dependent chronic kidney disease patients with and without anemia in the United States

Abstract Background Anemia is common in non-dialysis-dependent chronic kidney disease (NDD-CKD) patients, but detailed information on prevalence and treatment is lacking. Methods We evaluated anemia prevalence and treatment using two datasets: the Medicare 20% random sample (ages 66–85 years), and the Truven Health MarketScan database (ages 18–63 years). We selected stage 3–5 NDD-CKD patients with and without anemia from both databases during 2011–2013. We evaluated anemia prevalence and treatment (erythropoietin stimulating agents [ESAs], intravenous [IV] iron, red blood cell [RBC] transfusions) following anemia diagnosis during a 1-year baseline period, and healthcare utilization during a 1-year follow-up period. We used Poisson regression models to compare healthcare utilization in patients with and without anemia, adjusting for demographics, baseline comorbid conditions, inflammatory conditions, and CKD stage. Results We identified 218,079 older and 56,188 younger stage 3–5 NDD-CKD patients. Anemia prevalence increased with age in both datasets; was higher in women, black patients (Medicare only), and patients with comorbid conditions; and rose sharply with increasing CKD stage. Of 15,716 younger anemic patients, 11.7%, 10.8%, and 9.4% were treated with RBC transfusion, ESAs, and IV iron, respectively. Corresponding proportions of 109,251 older anemic patients were 22.2%, 12.7%, and 6.7%. Regardless of age, anemic patients were more likely than non-anemic patients to use healthcare resources, including hospitalizations and emergency department, hematologist, nephrologist, and outpatient visits. Anemic NDD-CKD patients were more likely to be treated with RBC transfusion than with ESAs or IV iron. Conclusion More research is necessary to determine best approaches to anemia management in CKD