Musculoskeletal disorders in hemodialysis patients: prevalence, clinical symptoms, and associated factors

Introduction: One of the major public health problems is end-stage renal disease (ESRD). ESRD is commonly associated with musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). Objectives: Due to the importance of MSDs in hemodialysis patients and the absence of sufficient studies in Iran, this study aims to investigate MSDs in hemodialysis patients. Patients and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 75 patients with ESRD, who were under hemodialysis at the special diseases center of Birjand university of medical sciences, south Khorasan, Iran. Inclusion criteria were history of at least 2 years of hemodialysis, and age more than 18 years. All patients with previous neurological disorders, previous rheumatic diseases, previous arthroplasty of the limbs, and severe psychological disorders were excluded from the study. Baseline characteristics and laboratory data collected. MSDs examined based on the Nordic Musculoskeletal Screening Questionnaire (NMQ). Data were described using central tendency, CHI-SQUARE test, and Fisher’s exact test were used. The significance level in this study was P<0.05. Results: Seventy-five patients participated (Mean and standard deviation (SD) of age: 62.13±1.73 years, male to female ratio: 1.14). Sixty-three patients (84.0%) had MSDs. There was no significant difference based on age, dialysis vintage, gender, laboratory tests, and comorbidities (P>0.05). Dialysis etiology, knee osteoarthritis, shins pain, knee pain and knee range of motion had significantly difference between groups (respectively, P=0.047, P=0.003, P=0.012, P=0.001, P=0.002). Conclusion: The frequency of MSDs in these patients was 84.0%. There was a significant association between MSDs with the cause of hemodialysis, lower limb pain, and knee osteoarthritis.