Dialysis patients who live at higher altitude have more chances to survive for a longer period of time than those who live near the sea level, according to a new study.

 

A team of Harvard researchers identified 804,812 people with end-stage renal disease who started dialysis between 1995 and 2004. 40% of the participants lived at altitudes of 250 feet or less and more than 50% lived near the sea level.

 

Dialysis helps improve kidney function, which includes removing waste and extra water from the body, maintaining safe levels of chemicals in the blood and keeping blood pressure at a normal level.

 

When they compared the rates of death of people who lived at or near sea level with that of those who resided at higher altitudes, the team found that the death rate was reduced by 12 % for those living at elevations between 4,000 and 5,999 feet and by 15% for those living higher than 6,000 feet.

Overall, the five-year survival rate was 34% for those living near the sea level and 42% for those living higher than 6,000 feet.

 

The study found that those living at 2,000 to 3,999 were 7 % less likely to die, those who lived at altitudes 4,000 to 5,999 were 12% less likely to die; and those living above 6,000 feet were 15% less likely to die.

The study was published in the Journal of the American Medical Assn.