Family dynamics are the patterns of relating, or interactions, between family members. Each family system and its dynamics are unique, although there are some common patterns. All families have some helpful and some unhelpful dynamics.
According to USRDS data from. 2006,nearlyonehalfofincidentdialysispatientsin. the United States are senior citizens, with the me-. dian age at dialysis initiation at 64.4 yr old.1 Fur-. thermore,theelderlyarethefastest-growinggroup. of incident dialysis patients, meaning that this me-.
The data show that 70- to 74-year-olds on dialysis can expect to live 3.6 years on average, compared with 12.2 years for all Americans of that age. For 75- to 79-year-olds, the figures dropped to 3.1 years versus 9.2 years. For 80- to 75-year-olds, they were 2.5 years versus 6.7 years. And for those 85 years and older, average life expectancy was two years versus 3.5 years. (The dialysis data is for 2011, and the general population data is from 2009.) âSome people will do better, and others will do worse,â Dr. Berns said.