Hydrocarbon exposure and chronic glomerulonephritis

63 adult patients with advanced renal failure were interviewed to evaluate their exposure to chronically contacted or inhaled toxic substances. Grading of exposure revealed that patients with biopsy-proven primary proliferative glomerulonephritis and patients with a clinical presentation consistent with glomerulonephritis had significantly greater exposure than patients with a variety of other renal diseases. Patients with proliferative or suspected glomerulonephritis also had significantly more exposure than age and sex matched controls without renal disease. Hydrocarbon solvents were the most frequent agents of exposure. Further studies to define a possible pathogenic relationship between hydrocarbon exposure and glomerulonephritis are warranted.