Review on exposure characteristics and health effects of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances / 环境与职业医学

Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a new type of persistent organic pollutants that have received extensive attention in recent years. This article reviewed the population characteristics of environmental exposure to PFAS, as well as the potential health effects. Previous studies have verified that people are exposed to PFAS mainly through ingestion, and food and water are the dominant contributors. In terms of exposure characteristics, geographical, gender, age, and occupational differences have an impact on the level of PFAS exposure in the corresponding populations by influencing their behavioral characteristics and metabolic levels, with occupational exposure receiving more attention, especially in the exploration of novel PFAS. PFAS associate with a variety of adverse health effects caused by hepatorenal toxicity, immunotoxicity, reproductive toxicity, neurotoxicity, and carcinogenicity. However, some of the conclusions are not completely consistent, and the published epidemiological studies have focused on children and young people, lacking relevant data of the elderly. Future research can pay more attention to the elderly population and carry out validation exploration on controversial conclusions.

Whether the limitation of the phalangeal epiphysis "before the equal-diameter period" should be extended to "before the ultra-diameter period" in X-ray diagnosis of Kashin-Beck disease / 中华地方病学杂志

Objective:To explore whether the limit of "before the equal-diameter period" is reasonable in the current criteria for "Diagnosis of Kashin-Beck Disease" (WS/T 207-2010) in children, and to provide basic data and technical support for revision of the criteria for "Diagnosis of Kashin-Beck Disease" (WS/T 207-2010).Methods:In 2018, the historical Kashin-Beck disease (KBD) areas in Heilongjiang Province were selected as the investigation sites. The right-hand X-ray films of all children aged 7-12 years old were taken. According to the different X-ray manifestations of the growth and development of the phalangeal epiphysis, they were divided into five periods: before the equal-diameter period, equal-diameter period, ultra-diameter period, pre-closure period and closure period. Firstly, after stratifying by basic data such as age and gender, the data were standardized and analyzed. Secondly, the detection rates of metaphysis-epiphysis (CRME) in each period were calculated and compared. Finally, based on the mean value of the detection rate of metaphyseal change in Linkou and Fuyu counties of Heilongjiang Province in 1990, the rates of expected detection and missed diagnosis of metaphyseal changes of KBD among investigated children were calculated and compared under the limitation of before the equal-diameter period, before the ultra-diameter period or age range reduction.Results:A total of 5 019 children were investigated. The proportion of children before the equal-diameter period was 53.94% (2 707/5 019), and that of before the ultra-diameter period was 77.92% (3 911/5 019). The results showed that the equal-diameter period mainly appeared in 7-10 years old, and showed a decreasing trend with the increase of age (χ 2trend = 390.10, P<0.05); the ultra-diameter period mainly occurred in 10-12 years old, showing a decreasing trend with the increase of age (χ 2trend = 65.39, P < 0.05); the pre-closure period mainly occurred in 10-12 years old, with an increasing trend with the increase of age (χ 2trend = 51.86, P<0.05); the closure period mainly occurred in 11-12 years old and increased with age (χ 2trend = 7.58, P<0.05). The CRME of children in ultra-diameter period was 14.78% (158/1 069), however CRME did not occur in children with equal-diameter period. Among children before equal-diameter period, before ultar-diameter period and aged 7-10 years old, the expected detection rates of metaphyseal changes of KBD were 5.90%, 8.53% and 7.42%, respectively. The expected missed diagnosis rates of metaphyseal changes of KBD were 5.06%, 2.45% and 3.52%, respectively. Conclusion:In order to improve the rate of expected detection and lower the rate of missed diagnosis of metaphyseal changes of KBD, children in "equal-diameter period" should be included in X-ray diagnosis and disease monitoring of KBD.

Investigation of physical disability in adults patients with Kashin-Beck disease / 中华地方病学杂志

Objective:To investigate the degree of limb dysfunction in adult patients with Kashin-Beck disease (KBD), and the correlation between clinical grade of KBD and physical disability classification.Methods:Based on the monitoring data, using typical survey methods, 10 natural villages were selected as survey sites in the historical critical area of KBD in Heilongjiang Province in 2015. Patients over 40 years old with KBD were investigated by questionnaire, joint range of motion(ROM) examination, and X-ray film were performed. The degree of physical disability of the surveyed patients was evaluated according to the national standard of "Classification and Grading of Disability of the Disabled" (GB/T 26341-2010). The correlation between clinical classification of KBD and limb disability classification was analyzed.Results:A total of 137 adult patients with KBD were investigated, the age was (57.4 ± 9.9) years old. Among them, 84 were males and 53 were females; 95 were grade Ⅰ, 30 were grade Ⅱ and 12 were grade Ⅲ. The most common joint pain of upper limb was interphalangeal joint(126 cases, 126/137), followed by elbow joint (116 cases, 116/137); the lower limbs were mainly ankle joint (118 cases, 118/137) and knee joint (107 cases, 107/137). There were significant differences of detection rates in elbow, knee, ankle, hip and wrist joints dysfunction among different age groups ( P < 0.05). The detection rate increased with age. There was no correlation between the clinical grade of KBD and the classification of physical disability ( rs = - 0.142, P > 0.05). KBD patients accounted for the highest proportion of tertiary disability (60 cases, 60/137). The physical disability of male patients was more serious than that of female patients (χ 2 = 22.610, P < 0.01). Conclusions:In adults with KBD, interphalangeal joint pain is the most common in the upper limbs, and the ankle and knee joints are the most common in the lower limbs. There is no correlation between clinical grade of KBD and the level of physical disability. The degree of physical disability in male patients is higher than that in female patients.

Advances in the pathogenesis of articular cartilage injury in Kaschin-Beck disease / 中华地方病学杂志

Kaschin-Beck disease (KBD) is an endemic and deforming osteochondropathy, and its pathogen and pathogenesis remain unclear up to now. In recent years, the results in the research of pathogenesis of KBD showed that oxidative stress, excessive chondrocyte apoptosis, imbalance of chondrocyte extracellular matrix metabolism and pro-inflammatory factors were all involved in the occurrence and development of KBD. And this paper summarized the important progress in the pathogenesis of KBD.