Factors influencing the joint health of haemophilic children / 中华物理医学与康复杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To explore the joint health of children with haemophilia and its influencing factors.Methods Sixty boys with haemophilia (aged 4-18 years) were recruited from Peking Union Medical College Hospital.They were divided by age into a five to seven year-old group (group A,n=16),an eight to twelve year-old group (group B,n =18) and a thirteen to eighteen year-old group (group C,n =26).The haemophilia joint health score (HJHS) (version 2.1) was used to evaluate the condition of their elbows,knees and ankles.Spearman's method was applied to analyze the influencing factors.Results The average HJHSs of the knees,elbows and ankles of all of subjects were 8.65±6.41,5.30±5.30,and 5.40±4.25 respectively.The average for the knees was significantly higher than for the elbows and ankles.The average HJHS for the elbows of group A was significantly lower than that of their knees.The average HJHS for their knees was not significantly different from that of their ankles.For those aged 13-18 years,the average HJHS for their knees was significantly higher than that for their elbows and ankles.There was no significant difference between the HJHSs for the elbows,knees and ankles of the 8-12 year-olds.The HJHSs were positively correlated with age but negatively correlated with average therapeutic dose and exercise.Conclusion The joint health of haemophilic boys,especially that of the knees,decreases with age.Their joint health can be improved by medication and by taking reasonable physical exercise.