RESUMO
Background: Diseases manifest differently according to gender in many medical specialties. However, sex differences in kidney diseases have not been well explored worldwide, especially in India. These differences could also be attributed to sociocultural factors. Although CKD is more prevalent in women worldwide, most men are initiated on kidney replacement therapy (KRT). This study aimed to examine sex disparities in patients on maintenance hemodialysis. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional observational study was conducted in two maintenance hemodialysis units at the Institute of Nephrourology, a tertiary care referral government center in Bengaluru, India. Demographic characteristics and laboratory parameters were also recorded. Results: In total, 374 adult patients (aged >18 years) were included in the study. Most patients (72.7%) were men. Mean age in men was 46.95 ± 12.65 years, and women was 46.63 ± 13.66 years. There was no significant difference in marital status and the availability of caretakers between the groups. Spouses were the predominant caretakers for both sexes (64% men and 51% women, P = 0.14). Sons cared more for patients with mother than fathers (19.6% vs 8.8%, P = 0.074). Diabetic nephropathy was the most common cause of ESKD in both groups (33.1% vs 31.3%, P = 0.92). Men had a significantly longer duration of HTN and received more HD sessions per week than women. Mean hemoglobin (9.9 ± 1.79 vs 9.46 ± 1.47 g%) and mean serum creatinine (7.76 ± 2.65 vs 6.41 ± 2.27 mg/dl) were higher in men compared to women (P <0.002). Intradialytic complications, such as hypotension and cramps, were significantly more common in women than in men (P = 0.004). Most men (47.1%) were planning a kidney transplant (and were waitlisted) compared with fewer women (43%). There was no significant difference in the average number of hospitalizations per month or HD vintage. Conclusion: Women tend to initiate dialysis later, and a lesser number are waitlisted for kidney transplantation, which might be partly related to varying access to or delivery of health care services. Factors such as lack of education, insufficient identification of and strategies to address cultural obstacles to healthcare, and a shortage of financial means to afford medical care are potentially correctable elements that might explain this discrepancy.
RESUMO
IgA nephropathy is the most common primary glomerulonephritis worldwide and can progress to end-stage kidney disease (ESKD). The current "gold standard" for diagnosis is kidney biopsy, which is invasive and associated with morbidity. miRNAs are small, non-coding endogenous RNA that may serve as non-invasive biomarkers, and that are found in urinary exosomes. Thus far, there is a paucity of studies of the miRNA profile for the diagnosis of IgA nephropathy. Hence, we aimed to study the urinary exosomal miRNA signature of Indian patients with IgA nephropathy. Fifty biopsy-proven IgA nephropathy patients, 50 healthy controls and 25 patients with ESKD (IgA nephropathy) were recruited over 2 years (2020-2022). Urinary exosomes were isolated from which miRNA was extracted . Analysis of urinary exosomal miRNA was done using the digital multiplexed nCounter® human v3 miRNA Expression Assay which contains 799 unique miRNA barcodes. Candidate miRNAs were identified using Lasso regression and consensus clustering. The mean age of IgA nephropathy patients was 36.32 ± 3.067 years, mean creatinine was 2.26 ± 0.318 mg/dl and mean proteinuria was 2.69 ± 0.64 g/day. Compared to healthy controls, the majority (N = 150) of miRNAs were significantly downregulated. Five candidate miRNAs (hsa.miR.146b.3p, hsa.miR.599, hsa.miR.4532, hsa.miR.664b.5p and hsa.miR.221.5p) were able to differentiate between IgA nephropathy cases and controls (AUC > 0.90); the presence of all 5 was associated with 100% specificity and sensitivity for diagnosing IgA nephropathy cases. This study of Indian patients identified that there was a significant difference in the urinary exosomal miRNA profile between IgA nephropathy cases and healthy controls, suggesting that miRNAs may be valuable in the non-invasive diagnosis of IgA nephropathy.
