Association of hydrocarbon exposure with glomerulonephritis in nigerians: a case control study

Glomerulonephritis (GN) is a major cause of CRF in Nigerians. Experimental evidence and clinical studies mostly in Caucasian subjects have associated hydrocarbon (HC) exposure with GN. We conducted a case-control study using a questionnaire-based quantitative HC exposure measurement to compare lifetime HC exposure levels between Nigerian patients with GN-induced CRF and matched healthy control subjects. Fifty consecutive patients with CRF from GN were compared with age and sex matched group of 45 healthy controls. A questionnaire designed to assess the sources, duration and intensity of HC exposure was used to compute an HC exposure score (HES) for each participant and the scores for the two groups were then compared. The HES was significantly higher in the patients (score +/- SEM) of 2307.5 +/- 698.8 vs. 53.4 +/- 16.5; p < 0.001. The HES was dichotomised by classifying all study subjects within the upper third of scores as a high-exposure sub-group. A significantly higher proportion of patients had high exposure (p<0.002). Logistic regression analysis excluded age and gender as confounding factors and determined a greater than four-fold risk of GN-induced CRF with high HC exposure (OR 4.3; 95% CI 1.7 - 11). In conclusion, our findings suggest that HC exposure is a significant risk factor for GN in Nigerians with CRF. Exposure limitation could help to reduce the burden of CRF in the country.