Changes in the Spectrum of Kidney Diseases: An Analysis of 40,759 Biopsy-Proven Cases from 2003 to 2014 in China

<b><i>Objectives:</i></b> To evaluate the changing spectrum of kidney diseases over time in China using renal biopsy-proven cases. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> All patients over the age of 14 years who were diagnosed with a kidney disease by renal biopsy in the Renal Biopsy Registry of the National Clinical Research Center of Kidney Diseases in Jinling Hospital, Nanjing, from 2003 to 2014 were included. <b><i>Results:</i></b> In total, 40,759 cases of renal biopsy were analyzed. The mean age of the patients was 36.59 ± 14.12 years. 52.0% of the patients were male. Primary glomerulonephritis (PGN), secondary glomerulonephritis, tubulointerstitial disease, and hereditary renal diseases accounted for 67.1, 26.4, 2.9, and 2.5%, respectively. IgA nephropathy (IgAN), membranous nephropathy (MN), minimal change disease, and focal segmental glomerulosclerosis were the leading PGN diagnoses. The frequency of MN increased significantly (<i>p</i> < 0.001) by doubling from 2003 to 2014. An analysis by age category indicated that the frequency of MN increased significantly over time (<i>p</i> < 0.001) in all age categories and increased by more than 2 times in the 14-24 age category. Lupus nephritis (LN) and Henoch-Schönlein purpura nephritis (HSPN) decreased significantly (<i>p</i> < 0.001), diabetic nephropathy (DN) increased nearly twice (<i>p</i> < 0.001), monoclonal immunoglobulin deposition disease (MIDD) tripled (<i>p</i> < 0.001), and hypertensive nephropathy (HT) (<i>p</i> < 0.001) and renal amyloidosis (AMY) (<i>p</i> < 0.05) showed an upward trend. An analysis by age category showed that hepatitis B-related nephritis has significantly decreased in the 14-24 age category (<i>p</i> < 0.001). <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> PGN continued to be the predominant kidney disease in China with IgAN being the most common PGN. The frequency of MN increased significantly, with a maximum increase in young adults. LN and HSPN decreased significantly, DN and MIDD increased significantly, and HT and AMY also showed an increasing trend. The kidney disease trends presented in this study serve as a reference point for patient care, disease prevention, and public health interventions.