Grant: Project Grant

Glomerulonephritis (GN) is a group of autoimmune diseases that attack the kidneys and is the second most common cause of kidney failure requiring dialysis or a kidney transplant in Canada. Unlike most other kidney diseases, GN mainly affects younger and otherwise healthy individuals. Individuals with GN have protein in the urine and declining kidney function, which are both strongly associated with cardiovascular risk. Yet, existing research on cardiovascular risk among individuals with GN is sparse. Current clinical guidelines recommend using prediction tools to assess cardiovascular risk in individual patients. These prediction tools were created in people without kidney disease and rely on traditional risk factors including older age and the presence of chronic health conditions such as high blood pressure and diabetes. Cardiovascular risk in individuals with GN, who tend to be younger and have fewer comorbid conditions, is likely to be underestimated. This knowledge and therapeutic gap place these patients at high risk for potentially preventable cardiovascular events and delayed treatment for cardiovascular disease. The overall aim of this three-year study is to improve the prediction of cardiovascular risk in individuals with GN. First, an existing prediction tool for cardiovascular events will be evaluated and updated using a unique population-level cohort of all individuals with GN in British Columbia (BC) from 2000-2012 (n=1912). Then, the updated tool will be validated in two external GN cohorts in BC (from 2013-2020) and in Ontario (2010-2020). Finally, a mobile app based on the updated prediction tool will be developed and user-tested among nephrologists to facilitate clinician uptake of the updated prediction tool and to help improve the clinical management of cardiovascular disease among individuals with GN.