Supplementary Material for: Body Mass Index Change and Hospitalization Risk in Elderly Hemodialysis Patients: Results from Japanese Dialysis Outcomes and Practice Patterns Study

Background: Short-term weight gains and losses are associated with a lower and higher mortality risk, respectively, in patients undergoing hemodialysis (HD). However, little is known about their association with the risk of subsequent hospitalization. Methods: In a prospective cohort of 1,804 HD patients aged ≥65 years enrolled in the Japanese Dialysis Outcomes and Practice Patterns Study phases 3 (2005–2008) and 4 (2009–2011), we examined the associations between changes in body mass index (BMI) over a 4-month baseline period (Results: During a median follow-up of 1.2 years, we noted 1,028 incident hospitalizations for any cause, including 275 and 753 hospitalizations for cardiovascular and noncardiovascular causes, respectively. An L-shaped association was observed between BMI change and all-cause hospitalization. The multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios (HRs; 95% CI) of all-cause hospitalization associated with BMI changes of Conclusions: Decreases in BMI over a relatively short-term period were independently associated with higher risk of subsequent hospitalization, particularly cardiovascular-related hospitalization, among elderly HD patients.