Analysis of risk factors for tubular atrophy/interstitial fibrosis in primary membranous nephropathy.

Tubular atrophy/interstitial fibrosis (TA/IF) is a pathology that can occur in nearly all chronic kidney diseases. However, few studies have investigated the risk factors for the development of TA/IF in patients with primary membranous nephropathy (PMN) during the normal renal function stage have been carried out. This study investigates the risk factors for the development of TA/IF in PMN with normal glomerular filtration rate. A total of 213 PMN patients with normal renal function, diagnosed by kidney biopsy between January 2021 and March 2023, were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were divided into the T0 group, in which patients did not undergo TA/IF, and the TA/IF group, in which patients underwent TA/IF. The patients' clinical and pathological data were summarized descriptively, and the risk factors affecting TA/IF severity were analyzed. Binomial logistic regression showed that uric acid (UA) level, white blood cell (WBC) count, glomerular ischemic lesions, glomerulosclerosis, and inflammatory cell infiltration into the renal interstitium were independently associated with TA/IF in PMN (P < .05). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for UA in predicting the occurrence of TA/IF in PMN was 0.708 (P < .05). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for WBC count predicting the occurrence of TA/IF in PMN was 0.616 (P < .05). Blood UA and WBC counts could predict the occurrence of TA/IF to a certain degree.