Wen Q, Rong R, Zhou Q, et al. - Researchers assessed the clinical as well as pathological differences in immunoglobulin A (IgA) nephropathy (IgAN) with distinct ages and investigated if age represents a risk factor for IgAN progression in this single centre retrospective cohort analysis. Three groups were formed including patients with biopsy-diagnosed primary IgAN: young-aged (14-29 years), middle-aged (30-49 years) and older-age (≥ 50 years). Significantly higher levels of serum IgA, cholesterol, triglycerides and creatinine, and a decreased estimated glomerular filtration rate, was seen in the older-age group. More severe chronic pathological alterations including global glomerulosclerosis and vascular lesions were evident in the older-aged patients, vs young adults showed a higher percentage of crescent formation in glomeruli. The three groups had similar 3- and 5-year renal survival rates. Overall, findings revealed distinct clinical pathological alterations in IgAN patients with aged 50 years or older vs younger patients. However, the renal progression of IgAN was not independently predicted by aging.