Immunoglobulin A nephropathy and ischemic heart disease: a nationwide population-based cohort study

BACKGROUND: Chronic kidney disease has been linked to cardiovascular disease and specifically ischemic heart disease (IHD), but large-scale population data in patients with immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN) are missing. OBJECTIVE: To examine absolute and relative risks for IHD in patients with IgAN. METHODS: Population-based register-based cohort study in Sweden. We identified 3945 patients with biopsy-verified IgAN, and 19,272 age- and sex-matched reference individuals from the general population. To reduce residual confounding from genetic factors and early environmental factors we carried out secondary analyses, where we compared 3039 IgAN patients with 6729 siblings, whereas a spousal analysis consisted of 2377 married couples where one of the spouses had IgAN. Data on IHD and end-stage renal disease (ESRD) were retrieved from the nationwide Patient Register. Cox regression estimated hazard ratios (HRs) adjusted for matching variables, education, country of birth, cancer, diabetes mellitus, and other systemic inflammatory diseases. RESULTS: During a follow-up of 55,527 person-years (py; mean follow-up 14.1 years), 371 patients (9.4%) with IgAN developed IHD (6.7/1000 py), compared with 1070 (5.6%) in 287,677 py in reference individuals (3.7/1000 py). The corresponding adjusted HR was 1.86 (95%CI = 1.63–2.13), equivalent to one extra case of IHD per 34 IgAN patients followed-up for 10 years. HRs were similar in men and women with IgAN, but higher in the first year after diagnosis and in patients born outside the Nordic countries. Patients with IgAN were at increased risk of IHD also compared to siblings (HR = 2.07; 95%CI = 1.62–2-64) and spouses (HR = 1.91; 95%CI = 1.40–2.61). CONCLUSIONS: In this nationwide population-based study, patients with IgAN were at an 86% increased risk of future IHD. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12882-021-02353-7.