Influence of pregnancy on the course of primary chronic glomerulonephritis

According to some nephrologists, pregnancy has damaging effects on renal function in primary glomerulonephritis, but the evidence is conflicting. We evaluated the effect of pregnancy on the occurrence of end-stage renal failure (ESRF) in 360 patients with various histological forms of primary glomerulonephritis but with normal renal function (serum creatinine < or = 0.11 mmol/L) at presentation. In actuarial analyses, overall ESRF-free survival did not significantly differ between women who became pregnant after clinical onset of renal disease (n = 171) and those who did not conceive (n = 189). Furthermore, in a case-control study pregnancy did not emerge as a risk factor for progression to ESRF (odds ratio 1.15 [95% CI 0.61-2.18]), whereas the type of glomerulonephritis and hypertension were major determinants. We conclude that pregnancy does not affect the course of renal disease in patients who have normal renal function at conception.