THE FREQUENCY OF LUPUS NEPHROPATHY

Objective: To find out the frequency of subtypes of lupus Nephropathy in diagnosed cases of SLE.Material and Methods: We did a hospital based study involving 25 cases of lupus nephropathy from 1998 to 2001 at the department of medicine Hayatabad Medical Complex Peshawar to find out the age, sex distribution, extent of renal damage, type of renal histology and the degree of proteinuria.Results: Our study confirmed that lupus nephropathy is more common in females (92%). The commonest age affected is 20-40 years (84%) (median 34 years). Most of the cases have mild renal impairment (64%) and < 3 grams proteinuria (72%). W.H.O. Grade 3 glomerulopathy is the commonest histological lesion (40%), which is in sharp contrast to western figures.Conclusion: Lupus nephropathy is more common m young females and present with protienureia while grade 3 glomerulopathy is the commonest lesion. A large community based study is needed to study the epidemiology of lupus nephropathy.