The relationship between low-birth weight and nephrotic syndrome in children

Abstract

Introduction: The body weight of an infant is one of the most important factors that influences its survival, growth and development. Many clinical studies have shown a higher risk of an aggravated course of renal disease in children born with low- birth weight (LBW), due to reduction in glomerular number and development. However, there are limited clinical studies about this relationship. Objectives: This study was conducted to evaluate the relationship between LBW and risk of idiopathic nephrotic syndrome (INS) in children. Patients and Methods: In this case–control study, we evaluated nephrotic syndrome patients who were referred to Imam Raza hospital. Seventy patients with nephrotic syndrome as case group and 140 healthy children under age 16 with normal birth weight as control group were enrolled in the study. Data including age, sex, and birth weight were collected from patient’s records. Results: This study revealed that the risk of nephrotic syndrome in patients with LBW is two times higher than those with normal birth weight. However, there was no statistically significant difference (χ2 = 1.58, P = 0.12) Conclusion: Although the result of this study cannot show a statistically significant relationship between INS and LBW, the risk of nephrotic syndrome was twice in the case group.

Keywords

• Idiopathic nephrotic syndrome
• Low-birth weight
• Glomerular development