Published online Mar 25, 2024. doi: 10.5527/wjn.v13.i1.90402
Peer-review started: December 4, 2023
First decision: December 28, 2023
Revised: January 3, 2024
Accepted: March 11, 2024
Article in press: March 11, 2024
Published online: March 25, 2024
Polycystic kidney disease (PKD) is the most common genetic cause of kidney disease. It is a progressive and irreversible condition that can lead to end-stage renal disease and many other visceral complications. Current comprehensive data on PKD patterns in Africa is lacking.
To describe the prevalence and outcomes of PKD in the African population.
A literature search of PubMed, African journal online, and Google Scholar databases between 2000 and 2023 was performed. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses were followed to design the study. Clinical presentations and outcomes of patients were extracted from the included studies.
Out of 106 articles, we included 13 studies from 7 African countries. Ten of them were retrospective descriptive studies concerning 943 PKD patients with a mean age of 47.9 years. The accurate prevalence and incidence of PKD were not known but it represented the third causal nephropathy among dialysis patients. In majority of patients, the diagnosis of the disease was often delayed. Kidney function impairment, abdominal mass, and hypertension were the leading symptoms at presentation with a pooled prevalence of 72.1% (69.1–75.1), 65.8% (62.2–69.4), and 57.4% (54.2–60.6) respectively. Hematuria and infections were the most frequent complications. Genotyping was performed in few studies that revealed a high proportion of new mutations mainly in the PKD1 gene.
The prevalence of PKD in African populations is not clearly defined. Clinical symptoms were almost present with most patients who had kidney function impairment and abdominal mass at the diagnostic. Larger studies including genetic testing are needed to determine the burden of PKD in African populations.
Core Tip: Polycystic kidney disease is the most common genetic disorder affecting the kidney. The two main forms are autosomal dominant polycystic disease and autosomal recessive polycystic disease. It can lead to numerous complications with a natural progression leading to End stage kidney disease. Though the disease is well known and described in developed countries, its characteristics are still poorly understood in Africa. Indeed, as it appear in the present review, few studies regarding this disease were performed in the continent but reveal that advanced symptoms are already present in most of patients at the time of the diagnostic and the few studies with genetic testing revealed many new mutations.