Clinical, Pathological Characteristics and Outcomes of IgA Nephropathy Patients with different ages

AIM: To determine the clinical and pathological differences in immunoglobulin A (IgA) nephropathy (IgAN) with different ages, and to determine whether age is a risk factor for progression of IgAN. METHODS: This was a single centre retrospective cohort study. Patients with biopsy-diagnosed primary IgAN were stratified into three groups: young-aged (14-29 years), middle-aged (30-49 years) and older-age (≥50 years). The primary outcome was end-stage renal disease (estimated glomerular filtration rate [eGFR]  .05). The 3- and 5-year renal survival rates were similar among the three groups. A multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that age was not an independent predictor of an unfavourable prognosis. CONCLUSION: The IgAN patients with aged 50 years or older had different clinical pathological changes as compared with younger patients. However, aging was not found as an independently predictor of renal progression of IgAN. Prolonged follow up is necessary to confirm this trend.