In our study, either in the analysis for pooled ESRD patients or in subgroup analysis, the frequency of HLA-DRB1*04 in ESRD patients was significantly higher than that in the controls and HLA-DRB1*04 was also included in the HLA-A-B-DRB1 haplotypes which distributed significantly differently between ESRD patients and controls (in the pooled ESRD: HLA-A*11-B*27-DRB1*04; in the glomerulonephritis subgroup: HLA-A*02-B*40(61)-DRB1*04). Here, HLA-DRB1 is linked to glomerulonephritis.