Is IgAN Hereditary?

The Foundation for IgA Nephropathy

Is IgAN Hereditary?

The following information is provided in response to frequent questions about this on our Yahoo Groups-based email support group.

Although there may be a genetic predisposition towards IgAN, it is relatively rare for the disease to appear in more than one family member. It must be noted that genetic predisposition may not be the whole story. It is possible that environmental or other factors may play a role as well, or may be required for the genetic predisposition to be realized.

This is what is currently known:

Not familial. Greater than 90% of IgA nephropathy is not familial (in other words, there are no other family members with the disease).

Familial clustering. There appears to be a familial clustering of IgA nephropathy which shows strong family predisposition in about 10% of cases, with this being more common in some specific regions or in families from those regions. In the U.S., these include Kentucky and parts of the Southeast. In other parts of the world, familial clustering of IgAN seems to be more common in Southern France and Italy.

Ethnicity. In addition to the regional-based familial clustering, IgAN is known to be more common in some specific ethnic groups (although it does not necessarily run in families). IgAN is most common in people of Asian ethnicity (oriental), followed by Hispanics and then Caucasians (seems to be relatively more common among the French). It is least common in African Americans. IgAN is also more common in American Indians than it is in whites.

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