Giornale italiano di nefrologia : organo ufficiale della Società italiana di nefrologia
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Data on chronic nephropathies at the starting of the dialysis (Renal Regitries) don't show the real frequency of these diseases, because they refer to a population, which has been previously selected by the course of the illness; there are a few and fragmentary data referred to the general population, observed in primary care or outpatients' departments. The aim of the present study is to measure the frequency of the chronic nephropathies observed in a nephrology outpatients'department and compare it with the frequency reported by other studies on local epidemiology. ⋯ Although the outpatients' populations are neighbouring, they may significantly differ in features and frequency of chronic nephropathies. This phenomenon is the expression of referral factors, and demonstrates the importance of local epidemiology in appropriate care planning.