Abstract:Objective To analyze the etiology and causes of death in end-stage renal diseases (ESRD) with hemodialysis (HD) in different grade of hospitals. Methods The retrospective analysis included 3,601 cases of patients with maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) and 2,432 cases of death from 1986 to 2013. Data on the etiology and mortality were calculated. According to the sources of data, the hospitals were divided into three groups (2A, 3B and 3A), the cases of primary diseases on hemodialysis were 871, 723 and 1,523 respectively; the cases of death on hemodialysis were 312, 429 and 1,207 respectively. The constituent ratios of primary diseases and causes of death were analyzed. Results As the leading cause, chronic glomerulonephritis accounted for 49.32%, followed by diabetic nephropathy (18.24%) and hypertensive nephropathy (14.22%). At different periods, the composition ratios of primary diseases were significantly different (P < 0.05) in different grade hospitals. In recent years, the constituent ratios of diabetic nephropathy and hypertensive nephropathy rose, especially diabetes nephropathy. The patients with HD mainly died of cardiovascular diseases (42.35%), cerebro-vascular diseases (21.5%) and infections (11.76%). In the 2A hospitals, the patients with HD mainly died of cerebrovascular diseases, cardiovascular diseases, infections and hyperkalemia before 2000; but after 2000, the main causes of death were cardiovascular diseases, cerebrovascular diseases, infections and multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS). The patients with HD mainly died of cardiovascular diseases, cerebrovascular diseases, infections in the 3A hospitals, and cardiovascular diseases were more and more. There were significant differences in the main causes of death in the patients with HD between the 2A and 3A hospitals, but not between the 3A and 3B hospitals. Conclusions The main primary diseases of HD are chronic glomerulo-nephritis, diabetic nephropathy and hypertensive nephropathy; among which the constituent ratio of diabetic nephropathy is in a rising trend. During the same period, diabetic nephropathy and hypertensive nephropathy constitute higher ratios in 3A hospitals. The first cause of death is cardiovascular events, followed by cerebro-vascular disorders and infections, and the constituent ratio of cardiovascular events is rising.