Fig. 3

Forest plot for all-cause mortality overall of early versus late referral stratified by dialysis duration. a 6 months; b 1 year; c 2 years; d 3 years; e 4 years and f 5 years. ER patients showed a lower mortality risk at 6 months, 1 year, and 2, 3, 4, and 5 years after dialysis initiation than LR patients. The pooled HRs and their 95% CI were estimated using random effects models. Abbreviations: ER, early referral; LR, late referral; CI, confidence interval