Importance of Parental Consanguinity and Family History of Kidney Disease in the Turkish Adult Chronic Kidney Disease Population: An Epidemiologic Study

Background: This study aims to investigate the frequency of familial relationships and genetic predispositions to kidney disease, analyzing their correlation with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Methods: This observational study included individuals aged 18-70 years (at the time of this study) from October 2009 to 2015. 2576 patients with diverse kidney diseases [mean age: 47 [+ or -] 16 years; 1455 men (56.5%)], were compared with 853 healthy individuals with an employed questionnaire. Variables such as siblings, familial kidney disease history, consanguineous marriage, etiology of CKD, age at the time of the study, and diagnosis were compared between groups. Results: Parental consanguinity frequency was similar between groups [n = 174 (6.8%) in the patient group vs. n = 74 (8.7%) in the control group, P = .06]. Kidney disease due to family history was significantly higher in the patient group than in the control group (466 [18.1%] vs. 72 [8.4%], P < .001). Parental consanguinity frequency was notably higher in patients with congenital anomalies of the kidney and urinary tract (CAKUT) (n = 31/234; 13.2%) and vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) nephropathy (n = 27/131, 20.5%) compared to controls (8.7%) (P = .036 and P < .001, respectively). Multivariate analysis indicated that predictors of parental consanguinity were kidney disease due to family history (OR: 5.712; 95% CI, 4.136-7.890; P < .001), age at kidney disease diagnosis (OR: 0.968; 95% CI, 0.957-0.979; P< .001), and kidney disease replacement therapy (OR: 1.441; 95% CI, 1.020-2.038; P = .038). Conclusion: The CAKUT and VUR nephropathy risks are increased in consanguineous marriages. Patients with parental consanguinity develop the disease earlier and face a higher risk of kidney failure requiring replacement therapy. Consanguineous marriage might impact the severity of kidney diseases. Keywords: Chronic kidney diseases, consanguinity, family history, Turkish population, vesicoureteral reflux nephropathy