Glomerular Disease in Young Korean Men

Lee, Sang Ho; Yoo, Tae Hyun; Ryu, Seung Ho; Lee, Hyun Soon

Abstract

BACKGROUND: We performed this study to elucidate the incidence and the types of glomerular diseases present in young Korean men.
METHODS
Between January 1998 and December 2000, 222 military conscripts were submitted to 13 military hospitals for renal biopsy after poststreptococcal glomerulonephritis (PSGN) had been excluded. Clinical data and renal biopsies were reviewed retrospectively. On the basis of this data, we obtained the annual detection rate of glomerular disease in military conscripts. We also ascertain the prevalence of glomerular disease in pre-induction medical examination during the same period.
RESULTS
Total two hundred and ten cases of glomerulonephritis including 30 cases of PSGN were diagnosed on renal biopsy. After additional six patients with nephrotic syndrome were included, total 216 patients were diagnosed as glomerular disease. Among one hundred and eighty six patients excluding the patients with PSGN, 90 cases presented with asymptomatic urinary abnormality, 63 nephrotic syndrome, 25 acute nephritis, 8 chronic GN. In exclusion of PSGN, the most common glomerular diseases observed were those due to IgA nephropathy (42.8%), minimal change disease (15.6%) and focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (14.4%). IgA nephropathy was most common (57%) in 96 patients presented with asymptomatic urinary abnormality. On the basis of the figures in this study the average number of annually detected cases of GN was 13.8 per 100,000 Korean Amy. During the same period an annual average of 70.0 per 100,000 young men were exempted from military service because of Glomerulonephritis.
CONCLUSION
Average number of annually detected cases of glomerulonephritis is 13.8 per 100,000 and IgA nephropathy is most common in young Korean conscripts.