The arthropathic and functional impairment features of adult Kashin-Beck disease patients in Aba Tibetan area in China

Summary Object The purpose of the study was to analyze the features of arthropathic changes and functional impairments as well as the correlations between them for adult patients suffered with Kashin-Beck disease (KBD) in Aba Tibetan area of Sichuan Province, China. Method Nine hundred and eighty-nine adult KBD patients in Aba KBD prevalence area were investigated. The arthropathic changes including arthritic pain (evaluated by visual analog pain score (VAS)), deformity, limited range of joint motion (ROM), as well as daily living and working function were examined, evaluated and analyzed. Results Ninety-two percent of patients suffered with multiple affected joints in both upper and lower extremities. The most frequently affected joints were knee (86.1%) and hand (77.2%). The most painful joints were knee (VAS 7.1 ± 1.9) and elbow (VAS 6.8 ± 2.1). Joint deformities most frequently represented as enlargement of interphalangeal joints (93.2%). Limitation of ROM occurred most frequently in hand (76.7%) and elbow (38.4%). Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that only joint pain (regression coefficient: −0.504, 95% confidence interval (CI): −0.820–0.188, P ＜ 0.001) and ROM (regression coefficient: 0.017, 95% CI: 0.011–0.024, P ＜ 0.001) were independent risk factors affecting daily living and working function. Conclusion Most adult patients suffered with multiple affected joints in both upper and lower limbs. The elbow, hand and knee were the most frequently and severely affected joints. The pain and limited ROM were the independent risk factors of daily living and working function.