Body pain during daily activities in patients on peritoneal dialysis

Abstract

Objective. To review the prevalence of body pain during daily activities in patients on peritoneal dialysis (PD) and to correlate it with various demographic and renal osteodystrophy markers such as calcium (Ca), phosphorus (P), intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH), and vitamin D-3 levels.

Methods. A cross-sectional study was conducted involving 530 chronic PD patients (44.3 % female, 55.6 % male) from 24 centers in Canada, Greece, and Turkey. Pain severity scoring during daily activities was performed using the pain scoring table of the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC).

Results. The overall prevalence of pain was 52.9 % (61.3 % in females and 49.5 % in males, p < 0.05). Morning stiffness was reported by 23.6 % of the patients, and diminished range of movement by 20 %. The mean age, weight, and body mass index were higher in patients with pain than in those without (p < 0.05). There was no statistically significant difference between patients with pain and those without pain with respect to their mean serum iPTH, Ca, P, Ca x P, ionized Ca, or bone alkaline phosphatase levels (p > 0.05). Mean serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D-3 [25(OH)D-3] levels were lower in patients with pain compared to those without pain (p < 0.05).

Conclusions. A high percentage of the PD patients (53 %) had body pain; iPTH levels and other biochemical parameters of renal osteodystrophy were not different between those with and without pain. Patients with pain had lower 25(OH)D-3 levels than did those without. Factors such as age, gender, obesity, and metabolic factors may interact to cause varying degrees of articular/bone pain in patients on PD. Since vitamin D deficiency aggravates the signs and symptoms of joint disease such as pain and stiffness, one should attempt to correct levels of 25(OH)D-3, as well as 1,25(OH)(2)D-3 levels, in these patients.