title: Changing prevalence of glomerular diseases in Korean adults: a review of 20 years of experience.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The prevalence of glomerular diseases differs according to geographic area, race, age and indications for a renal biopsy. This study was conducted to evaluate the distribution and changing patterns of renal diseases during the past 20 years in a large patient population in Korea.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients aged 16 years or older who underwent a renal biopsy at Severance Hospital in the Yonsei University Health System from 1987 to 2006 were enrolled. All medical records were reviewed retrospectively.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In total, 1818 patients (M:F = 1.02:1) were reviewed. Glomerulonephritis (GN) comprised 85.9% of the total biopsied cases. The most common primary GN was IgA nephropathy (IgAN) (28.3%), which was followed by minimal change disease (MCD) (15.5%), membranous nephropathy (MN) (12.3%), focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) (5.6%) and membranoproliferative GN (MPGN) (4.0%). The most common secondary GN was lupus nephritis (8.7%). The most common idiopathic nephrotic syndrome was MCD (38.5%), which was followed by MN and IgAN. Among 128 (7.4%) patients who were HBsAg-positive, MN (30.5%) and MPGN (21.1%) were the most common GN. When the incidence rates between 1987-91 and 2002-06 were compared, IgAN increased from 25.6 to 34.5%, while MCD (from 23.2 to 7.0%) and MPGN (from 6.7 to 1.7%) decreased significantly (P < 0.01).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  IgAN was the most common primary GN, and MCD was the most common cause of nephrotic syndrome. In the 5-year quartile comparison, the relative frequency of IgAN increased, while the relative frequency of MCD and MPGN decreased significantly during the past 20 years.
authors.affiliation: 1Department of Internal Medicine, The Institute of Kidney Disease, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Jae Hyun
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: Dong Ki
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Hyun Wook
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Sun Young
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Tae-Hyun
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Yoo
authors.forename: Beom Seok
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Shin-Wook
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.forename: Kyu Hun
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: Dae-Suk
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Heon Joo
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Jeong
authors.forename: Ho Yung
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D005921:Glomerulonephritis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology; D005922:Glomerulonephritis, IGA / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology; D015433:Glomerulonephritis, Membranous / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology; D005923:Glomerulosclerosis, Focal Segmental / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007723:Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult