Representation of Older Patients Receiving Maintenance Dialysis in Randomized Controlled Trials: A Meta-Epidemiologic Study

Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) provide high-quality evidence that informs the safety and efficacy of interventions. However, many RCTs lack representation of populations that may have differences in treatment effects1. Age is an important consideration in RCTs because older adults have different pharmacology, multimorbidity, polypharmacy, and health care utilization2-4 and therefore may modify treatment effects. Older adults have also been historically underrepresented in clinical trials with many factors contributing including participation barriers such as physical, functional, or cognitive impairments5.