Socioeconomic deprivation, travel distance, and renal replacement therapy in the Trent Region, United Kingdom 2000: an ecological study

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Abstract
Patients in Trent Region who were receiving renal replacement therapy (haemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis, renal transplantation) in August/September 2000—that is, point prevalent cases—were categorised by enumeration district (ED), age band (15–24 to 80–84 years), and gender. (Data on acceptance of new patients were incomplete.) Data were obtained from renal units, including units outside Trent Region, which served patients resident in the Region. Corresponding 1991 census denominators, corrected for under-enumeration and scaled to 1998 Office for National Statistics mid-year estimates for the 11 health authorities in Trent, were obtained from an existing population dataset. The 1991 census based ED level Townsend score was categorised by quintile (with equal population in each category) and used as an indicator of socioeconomic deprivation.2 Travel distances were calculated from ED population centroids to the nearest renal unit, including satellite units, using 1:200 000 resolution road network data and categorised by five mile bands. The percentage of population of black and Asian origin at the ED level was obtained from the 1991 census and categorised (5%). Data were analysed using Poisson regression with adjustment for overdispersion.