Adults with glomerular diseases—which affect the kidney’s filtering units where blood is cleaned—face a high risk of developing heart problems, according to a study that will be presented online during ASN Kidney Week 2020 Reimagined October 19–October 25.

Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in adults with reduced kidney function. To define the cardiovascular disease risk of patients with glomerular diseases—which include focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, membranous nephropathy, IgA nephropathy, and minimal change disease—investigators analyzed 2000–2012 information from a centralized kidney pathology registry in British Columbia, Canada.

Among 1,912 patients followed for a median of 6.8 years, there were 338 cardiovascular events, and the 10-year risk was 16.0% (7.7% for IgA nephropathy, 13.2% for minimal change disease, 19.4% for membranous nephropathy, and 27.0% for focal segmental glomerulosclerosis). Results showed cardiovascular event rates were high both prior to and after end stage kidney failure.

The risk of cardiovascular disease was 2.5-times higher in individuals with glomerular diseases compared with adults in the general population.

“Consideration of glomerular disease–specific factors can help improve cardiovascular risk prediction. Failure to take these novel factors into account will lead to underestimation of cardiovascular risk and underutilization of cardiovascular primary prevention strategies,” said lead author Heather Gunning (University of British Columbia). “Further research is ongoing into the impact of glomerular disease activity and therapy over time on cardiovascular risk. This will allow better understanding of the impact of glomerular disease on cardiovascular risk and whether treatment may modify this.”

Study: “The Risk of Cardiovascular Events is Higher in Patients with Glomerular Disease Compared to the General Population”