Nephrotic syndrome in adult black South Africans: HIV-associated nephropathy as the main culprit.

BACKGROUND

Glomerular diseases, accompanied by nephrotic syndrome, contribute significantly to end-stage renal disease (ESRD) worldwide. We sought to show the distribution and frequency of biopsy-proven causes of nephrotic syndrome in native black Africans attending the Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa.

METHODS

We retrospectively reviewed the biopsy data of 294 black South Africans with biopsy-proven cause of nephrotic syndrome in Cape Town over a 10-year period. Nephrotic proteinuria was accepted as urine protein excretion of at least 3.5 g in 24 hours. Glomerular diseases were classified into primary and secondary types. Serum creatinine concentrations were stratified into 3 levels to reflect the degree of renal dysfunction at the time of presentation. The frequency and distribution of disease were recorded according to age and gender.

RESULTS

Young adults (< or = 40 years of age) constituted 74.1% of the study population. Secondary glomerular diseases were more frequent (58.8%) and human immunodeficiency virus-associated nephropathy (HIVAN) was observed as the leading cause of nephrotic syndrome in both males and females (42.8%). Most patients with HIVAN (73.6%) presented for the first time with severe renal impairment and more than half of patients with non-HIVAN glomerular diseases presented with an abnormal serum creatinine. Of the primary glomerular diseases, mesangiocapillary glomerulonephritis was the commonest cause of the nephrotic syndrome (19.0%), while IgA nephropathy was the least common cause (1.7%).

CONCLUSIONS

HIVAN is a major cause of nephrotic syndrome in black South Africans and may be responsible for the rising incidence of ESRD in Africa.