Table 1 Baseline characteristics of final enrolled participants
|  | Total (n = 162) | Control group (n = 81) | DF group (n = 81) | p value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Sex at birth (n, %) | Â | Â | Â | 0.636 |
 Male | 87 (53.7%) | 42 (51.9%) | 45 (55.6%) |  |
 Female | 75 (46.3%) | 39 (48.1%) | 36 (44.4%) |  |
Age (years, \({\overline{\text{x}}}\) ± SD) | 50.33 ± 8.31 | 49.62 ± 8.47 | 51.15 ± 8.13 | 0.274 |
Body weight (kg) | 58.55 ± 10.32 | 59.86 ± 9.86 | 57.24 ± 10.66 | 0.120 |
Time in hemodialysis (months) | 21.50 (28.50) | 18.50 (37.50) | 24.00 (24.00) | 0.570 |
eGFR (mL/min/1.73 m2) | 4.56 ± 2.60 | 4.51 ± 2.17 | 4.61 ± 3.10 | 0.936 |
Primary disease (n, %) | Â | Â | Â | 0.924 |
 GN | 72 (44.4%) | 37 (45.7%) | 35 (43.2%) |  |
 DKD | 50 (30.9%) | 23 (28.4%) | 27 (33.3%) |  |
 HN | 19 (11.7%) | 10 (12.3%) | 9 (11.1%) |  |
 Others | 21 (13.0%) | 11 (13.6%) | 10 (12.3%) |  |
Hb [g/L, M (IQR)] | 93.00 (13.00) | 93.00 (11.00) | 94.00 (15.50) | 0.231 |
Fe2+ [μmol/L, M (IQR)] | 9.73 (4.33) | 9.35 (4.77) | 10.21 (4.20) | 0.179 |
SF [ng/mL, M (IQR)] | 31.78 (34.58) | 33.43 (24.73) | 30.40 (45.29) | 0.758 |
sTfR [(g/L), M (IQR)] | 1.50 (0.92) | 1.36 (0.91) | 1.63 (0.94) | 0.140 |
Hepcidin [(pg/mL), M (IQR)] | 54.14 (39.76) | 51.09 (41.70) | 56.69 (41.57) | 0.253 |
rhEPO [IU/W, M (IQR)] | 15,000.00 (5000.00) | 15,000.00 (5000.00) | 15,000.00 (5000.00) | 0.830 |
DF intake (g/d) | 10.07 ± 5.61 | 10.68 ± 6.35 | 9.41 ± 4.63 | 0.157 |