Download - United States Renal Data System

Preface
The Researcher’s Guide is intended for investigators within
and outside of the USRDS Coordinating Center who wish
to undertake research projects using data from the USRDS
database. The Guide places particular emphasis on the
USRDS Standard Analysis Files (SAFs), the primary means
by which USRDS data are available for use. The Researcher’s
Guide includes the information needed to select and use the
appropriate SAFs for the intended project.
acknowledgements
Most original data for the USRDS are provided by the Centers
for Medicare & Medicaid Services through the interagency
agreement between the NIDDK/DKUHD of the National
Institutes of Health, and the Bureau of Data Management
and Strategy of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
The United States Renal Data System offers its grateful
appreciation to everyone who contributed to the USRDS
database and this guide, especially all the ESRD professionals
and Networks on whose reporting of data this enterprise
ultimately rests.
Allan J. Collins, MD, FACP
Director, USRDS Coordinating Center
University of Minnesota, Hennepin County Medical Center
Bertram Kasiske, MD
Deputy Director, USRDS Coordinating Center
University of Minnesota, Hennepin County Medical Center
Lawrence Y. C. Agodoa, MD
Co-Project Officer, USRDS
Director, End-stage Renal Disease Program, DKUHD
Paul W. Eggers, PhD
Co-project Officer, USRDS
Program Director, Kidney and Urology Epidemiology,
NIDDK
Cheryl Arko, BA
Senior Systems Analyst/Programmer
Nan Booth, MSW, MPH
Editor
Eric Frazier, BS
Systems Analyst/Programmer
Webmaster
David Gilbertson, PhD
Director of Analytical Services
Suying Li, PhD
Biostatistician
Economist
Shuling Li, MS
Biostatistician
Jiannong Liu, PhD
Senior Biostatistician
Tricia Roberts, MS
Biostatistician
Jon Snyder, MS
Biostatistician
Xinyue Wang, BA/BS
Systems Analyst/Programmer
Suggested Citation
The suggested citation for this report is as follows:
♦ United States Renal Data System, Researcher’s Guide
to the USRDS Database, National Institutes of Health,
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney
Diseases, Bethesda, MD, 2006.
Publications based upon USRDS data reported here or supplied
upon request must include the citation as noted above
and the following notice:
♦ The data reported here have been supplied by the United
States Renal Data System (USRDS). The interpretation
and reporting of these data are the responsibility of
the author(s) and in no way should be seen as an official
policy or interpretation of the US government.
Shu-Cheng Chen, MS
Director of Information Systems
Edward Constantini, MA
Senior Editor
Frederick Dalleska, MS
Senior Systems Analyst/Programmer
James Ebben, BS
Manager, Data Systems
Susan Everson, PhD
Senior Editor
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Introduction