NOTE, original article title: Health-related quality-of-life trajectories over time in older men and women with advanced chronic kidney disease

In this study of older men and women with advanced CKD, a lower health-related quality of life was present at baseline in women, but men had a more rapid decline in health-related quality of life over time.

• In this European observational prospective cohort study of referred patients with CKD and an incident eGFR < 20 ml/min per 1.73 m ² who were ≥65 years of age not on dialysis, a total of 5,345 health-related quality-of-life measurements in 1,421 participants were included.

• Considerably lower mean Physical Component Summary (42) and Mental Component Summary (60) at baseline were seen among women vs men (Physical Component Summary: 55; Mental Component Summary: 69).

• During follow-up, Physical Component Summary and Mental Component Summary scores decreased nearly twice as fast in men than in women.

• A partial attenuation of this difference was seen post-adjusting for important covariates, notably eGFR decline.

• Factors such as higher serum phosphate, lower hemoglobin, and the presence of preexisting diabetes were found to be linked with lower Physical Component Summary and Mental Component Summary scores in males but to a lesser extent in females.