Hanzhen Zhang, Ruiying Chen, Mingyue Xu, Xiaoyun Huang, Wenqian Zhao, Jie Zhou, Min Zhang, Yunyu Xu, Da Shang, Qionghong Xie, Chuan-Ming Hao
{"title":"Relapse Risk in Patients with Membranous Nephropathy after Inactivated COVID-19 Vaccination.","authors":"Hanzhen Zhang, Ruiying Chen, Mingyue Xu, Xiaoyun Huang, Wenqian Zhao, Jie Zhou, Min Zhang, Yunyu Xu, Da Shang, Qionghong Xie, Chuan-Ming Hao","doi":"10.1159/000544754","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Although there have been reports of relapse or worsening of membranous nephropathy after receiving vaccines against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the causal relationship or association between them has not been established. This study aimed to investigate the occurrence of relapse or worsening of membranous nephropathy following inactivated COVID-19 vaccination.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Patients who had been diagnosed with membranous nephropathy before receiving their first dose of vaccination, or before March 1, 2021, for unvaccinated patients, were included in the study. All patients were monitored at the Membranous Nephropathy Clinic of Huashan Hospital, Fudan University. The reasons for not receiving vaccines were investigated. The impact of COVID-19 vaccination on membranous nephropathy was assessed by comparing the relapse or worsening of membranous nephropathy within 12 months in vaccinated and unvaccinated patients with proteinuria <3.5 g/d. The baseline variables were balanced using cardinality matching.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A total of 353 patients with membranous nephropathy were included in the study, with 186 (53%) having received inactivated COVID-19 vaccines. Among the 167 unvaccinated participants, 114 (68%) expressed concerns about the possibility of disease relapse, and 47 (28%) were worried about the vaccine's efficacy due to their immunosuppressive therapy. Of the 239 participants with proteinuria <3.5 g/d, 152 were vaccinated, and 16 (11%) experienced a relapse or worsening of the disease during the follow-up period, which was similar to the 14 (16%) observed in the unvaccinated group. Following cardinality matching, there was no difference in the rate of relapse or worsening between the two groups, with 10 (13%) in the vaccinated group and 11 (15%) in the unvaccinated group (hazard ratio 0.98, 95% confidence interval 0.42-2.33).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Getting the inactivated COVID-19 vaccine may not increase risk of relapse or worsening in patients with membranous nephropathy.</p>","PeriodicalId":18998,"journal":{"name":"Nephron","volume":" ","pages":"1-11"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3000,"publicationDate":"2025-04-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Nephron","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1159/000544754","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"UROLOGY & NEPHROLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background: Although there have been reports of relapse or worsening of membranous nephropathy after receiving vaccines against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the causal relationship or association between them has not been established. This study aimed to investigate the occurrence of relapse or worsening of membranous nephropathy following inactivated COVID-19 vaccination.
Methods: Patients who had been diagnosed with membranous nephropathy before receiving their first dose of vaccination, or before March 1, 2021, for unvaccinated patients, were included in the study. All patients were monitored at the Membranous Nephropathy Clinic of Huashan Hospital, Fudan University. The reasons for not receiving vaccines were investigated. The impact of COVID-19 vaccination on membranous nephropathy was assessed by comparing the relapse or worsening of membranous nephropathy within 12 months in vaccinated and unvaccinated patients with proteinuria <3.5 g/d. The baseline variables were balanced using cardinality matching.
Results: A total of 353 patients with membranous nephropathy were included in the study, with 186 (53%) having received inactivated COVID-19 vaccines. Among the 167 unvaccinated participants, 114 (68%) expressed concerns about the possibility of disease relapse, and 47 (28%) were worried about the vaccine's efficacy due to their immunosuppressive therapy. Of the 239 participants with proteinuria <3.5 g/d, 152 were vaccinated, and 16 (11%) experienced a relapse or worsening of the disease during the follow-up period, which was similar to the 14 (16%) observed in the unvaccinated group. Following cardinality matching, there was no difference in the rate of relapse or worsening between the two groups, with 10 (13%) in the vaccinated group and 11 (15%) in the unvaccinated group (hazard ratio 0.98, 95% confidence interval 0.42-2.33).
Conclusion: Getting the inactivated COVID-19 vaccine may not increase risk of relapse or worsening in patients with membranous nephropathy.
期刊介绍:
''Nephron'' comprises three sections, which are each under the editorship of internationally recognized leaders and served by specialized Associate Editors. Apart from high-quality original research, ''Nephron'' publishes invited reviews/minireviews on up-to-date topics. Papers undergo an innovative and transparent peer review process encompassing a Presentation Report which assesses and summarizes the presentation of the paper in an unbiased and standardized way.