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Primary IgA nephropathy (IgAN) is the most common form of glomerulonephritis and a major cause of kidney failure. Here we describe the natural history of individuals with IgAN in the German Chronic Kidney Disease (GCKD) cohort.

From 2010 to 2012, 421 patients with biopsy-proven IgAN have been enrolled into the GCKD study, a prospective observational cohort study (N = 5217). Inclusion criteria were an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) of 30-60 mL/min/1.73 m² or overt proteinuria in the presence of an eGFR>60 mL/min/1.73 m². The adjudicated composite renal endpoint (Major Adverse Kidney Events; MAKE) was defined as eGFR decline>40%, eGFR< 15 ml/min or initiation of kidney replacement therapy. The associations between the incidence of MAKE and baseline risk factors were analyzed using the Cox proportional …