Photo Credit: Dobri Dobrev

The following is a summary of “Employment before and after initiation of dialysis or kidney transplantation– a Danish nationwide registry-based cohort study,” published in the January 2025 issue of BMC Nephrology by Carlsen et al. 

Chronic dialysis or kidney transplantation patients struggle to maintain employment, with rates declining before and after treatment. 

Researchers conducted a retrospective study on employment rates in dialysis and patients with kidney transplant from 3 years before to 3 years after treatment initiation. 

They identified all first-time dialysis and kidney transplantation patients aged 18–65 years in Denmark from 2005 to 2019 using the Danish Nephrological Register and linked with social security benefits data. Each patient was matched with 3 references. 

The results showed 4,469 patients undergoing dialysis (median age 55, 65% males) and 2,294 kidney transplant patients (median age 49, 64% males) were included, along with 13,262 and 6,790 references, respectively. The employment rate was 11% at dialysis initiation, compared to 61% for references, and 20% for kidney transplant patients compared to 67% for references. At all-time points, both dialysis and transplant patients had lower employment rates than references (P < 0.001). There was only a partial return to work after transplantation. Employment rates increased in patients with end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) from 2005–2019, but not significantly compared to reference groups. 

Investigators found low employment rates in patients with ESKD, with only a small increase after kidney transplantation and no improvement from 2005–2009 to 2015–2019. 

Source: bmcnephrol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12882-025-03969-9