Distribution of nephrologists and regional variation in the clinical severity of IgA nephropathy at biopsy diagnosis in Japan: a cross-sectional study.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

The clinical severity of IgA nephropathy (IgAN) at the time of biopsy diagnosis differs significantly among cases. One possible determinant of any such difference is the time taken for referral from the primary care physician to a nephrologist, but the definitive cause remains unclear. This study examined the contribution of the number of nephrologists per regional population as a potential social factor influencing the clinical severity at diagnosis among patients with IgAN in Japan, which has an ethnically homogeneous population.

Design

A cross-sectional study.

Setting and participants

Patients were registered in the Japan Renal Biopsy Registry (J-RBR), a nationwide multicentre registry, and 6426 patients diagnosed with IgAN were analysed. The facilities

SUBMITTER: Okabayashi Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6224759 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature