Dialysis patients living at an altitude higher than 4,000 feet have a 12- 15 percent lower death rate than dialysis patients living near sea level, according to the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).
 
A study found patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) living at higher altitudes achieved greater hemoglobin concentrations while receiving lower doses of erythropoetin. Increased iron availability caused by oxygen deficiency related factors may explain this finding.
 
Compared with patients living at lower altitudes (less than 250 feet), the rate of death was reduced for patients living from 250-1,999 feet by 3 percent; from 2,000 through 3,999 feet by 7 percent; from 4,000 to 5,999 feet by 12 percent; and higher than 6,000 feet by 15 percent.
 
More research on this topic is needed to further explain the difference in mortality rates for dialysis patients living at higher altitudes.

This article originally appeared in the February 2009 issue of Renal Flash.