title: Late onset lupus nephritis in Chinese patients: classified by the 2003 International Society of Nephrology and Renal Pathology Society system.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to assess clinicopathological characteristics and outcomes of a cohort of Chinese patients with late onset lupus nephritis.
  
  
  METHODS
  Clinical, pathological and outcome data for patients with late onset lupus nephritis (onset at age ≥50 years) and early onset lupus nephritis (onset at age ≤40 years) were retrospectively analyzed and compared.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among 271 patients with renal biopsy-proven lupus nephritis, 30 were identified as having late onset lupus nephritis and 241 were identified as having early onset lupus nephritis. Lower female predominance was observed in the late onset patients (p = 0.06). The interval between presentation of lupus nephritis and diagnosis was significantly longer in the late onset group than in the early onset group (p = 0.003). In comparison with early onset group, patients in the late onset group had significantly lower scores for endocapillary hypercellularity (p = 0.041), subendothelial hyaline deposits (p = 0.022) and glomerular leukocyte infiltration (p = 0.032), but had significantly higher scores for tubular atrophy (p = 0.037) and interstitial fibrosis (p = 0.018). Regarding long-term survival and renal outcome, there was no significant difference between the two groups, although it seemed that the early onset group had a poorer renal outcome (p = 0.077, hazard ratio (HR) = 3.909, 95% CI: 0.862-17.726).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Patients with late onset lupus nephritis were usually diagnosed later; they had milder active lesions and more severe chronic lesions in renal pathology. However, the renal outcome was similar between late and early onset patients.
authors.affiliation: Renal Division, Department of Medicine, Peking University First Hospital; Institute of Nephrology, Peking University; Key laboratory of Renal Disease, Ministry of Health of China, Beijing, PR China.
authors.forename: Y-X
authors.initials: YX
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: M-H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Zhao
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017668:Age of Onset; D000368:Aged; D044466:Asian People; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007668:Kidney / Q000473:pathology*; D008181:Lupus Nephritis / Q000145:classification* / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009398:Nephrology / Q000458:organization & administration; D012952:Societies; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult