Risk of deep venous thrombosis and pulmonary embolism in individuals with polymyositis and dermatomyositis: a general population-based study.

Background/objective: Patients with polymyositis (PM) and dermatomyositis (DM) may have an increased risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE); however, no general population data are available to date. The purpose of this study was to estimate the future risk and time trends of new VTE (deep venous thrombosis (DVT) or pulmonary embolism (PE)) in individuals with incident PM/DM at the general population level.

Methods: We assembled a retrospective cohort of all patients with incident PM/DM in British Columbia and a corresponding comparison cohort of up to 10 age-matched, sex-matched and entry-time-matched individuals from the general population.

"Employment and arthritis: making it work" a randomized controlled trial evaluating an online program to help people with inflammatory arthritis maintain employment (study protocol).

Background: Arthritis and musculoskeletal conditions are the leading cause of long-term work disability (WD), an outcome with a major impact on quality of life and a high cost to society. The importance of decreased at-work productivity has also recently been recognized. Despite the importance of these problems, few interventions have been developed to reduce the impact of arthritis on employment.