Low Income May Increase Risk for Specific Glomerular Diseases

FRIDAY, Feb. 21, 2020 — Socioeconomic position is inversely associated with standardized incidence of lupus nephritis and antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-related glomerulonephritis (ANCA-GN), according to a study published online Feb. 20 in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

Mark Canney, Ph.D., from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, and colleagues conducted a retrospective cohort study to capture all incident cases of membranous nephropathy, immunoglobulin A (IgA) nephropathy, focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS), ANCA-GN, and lupus nephritis (392, 818, 375, 387, and 389, respectively) in a provincial kidney pathology database. The authors examined the relationship between socioeconomic position and incidence of glomerular diseases.

The researchers identified a graded increase in standardized incidence with lower income for lupus nephritis and ANCA-GN. The lowest versus highest income quintile had a standardized rate ratio of 1.7 in women with lupus nephritis and 1.5 in ANCA-GN. A less consistent association was seen between income and FSGS; only the lowest income quintile was associated with higher disease incidence (standardized rate ratio, 1.55). For IgA nephropathy or membranous nephropathy, there were no significant associations noted.

“An improved understanding of socioeconomic determinants of glomerular disease could inform future research regarding disease pathogenesis, as well as health policy directed toward vulnerable populations at increased risk of organ-threatening autoimmune diseases,” the authors write.

One author disclosed financial ties to the biopharmaceutical industry.

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