Abstract
BACKGROUND: Kashin-Beck disease (KBD) is a serious human endemic chronic osteochondral disease. However, quantitative syntheses of X-ray detective rate studies for KBD are rare. We performed an initial systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the X-ray detective rate of KBD in China. METHODS: For this systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched five databases (PubMed, Web of Science, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), WanFang Data and the China Science and Technology Journal Database (VIP))using a comprehensive search strategy to identify studies of KBD X-ray detective rate in China that were published from database inception to January 13, 2018. The X-ray detective rate of KBD was determined via an analysis of published studies using a random effect meta-analysis with the proportions approach. Subgroup analysis and meta-regression were used to explore heterogeneity, and study quality was assessed using the risk of bias tool. RESULTS: A total of 53 studies involving 14,039 samples with X-ray detective rate in 163,340 observations in total were included in this meta-analysis. These studies were geographically diverse (3 endemic areas). The pooled overall X-ray detective rate for KBD was 11% (95%CI,8-15%;Z = 13.14; p < 0.001). The pooled X-ray detective rate estimates were 11% (95%CI, 6-17%; Z = 7.06; p < 0.001) for northeast endemic areas, 13% (95%CI, 7-20%; Z = 7.45; p < 0.001) for northwest endemic areas, and 8% (95%CI, 5-12%; Z = 7.90; p < 0.001) for southwest endemic areas. There was a significant relationship between the survey year and the X-ray detective rate of KBD. CONCLUSIONS: Our systematic review found that the summary estimate of the X-ray detective rate of KBD was 11% and, that KBD X-ray positive rate ranged from 8.00 to 15.00% depending on the study. Further research is required to identify effective strategies for preventing and treating KBD.