Our study aimed to obtain a comprehensive insight into the etiology of nephrotic 
syndrome in our patient population. We analyzed medical records of 290 patients 
with diagnosis of nephrotic syndrome as defined by International Study of Kidney 
Disease in Children (ISKDC), between January 1987 and December 2000, at the 
Sher-I-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences, Soura, Srinagar. Primary 
glomerular disease was found to be the most prevalent, accounting for 91.73% of 
all glomerular diseases. Among primary glomerular diseases, minimal change 
disease (MCD) was the most common histological lesion (43.79%). Most patients 
presented within 3 months duration (61.4%) and the most common symptom was 
puffiness of face (98.45%) followed by pedal edema (91%). Focal segmental 
glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) was the second most common lesion (16.89%) followed by 
membranous glomerulonephritis (GN) (13.4%) and membranoproliferative GN 
(11.72%). Amongst secondary glomerular diseases, diabetes mellitus was the most 
prevalent (4.48%), followed by lupus nephritis (3.1%). In conclusion, primary 
glomerular diseases constituted the most common group encountered and the 
prevalence of MCD was quite high with males, children and young adults. FSGS was 
associated with a high prevalence of end-stage renal disease (ESRD; 26.53%), 
hypertension (71.42%) and hematuria (81.63%).