Perceived mistreatment in patients with rheumatic diseases: The impact of the underlying diagnosis.

Background: Mistreatment is a complex problem that impacts people's quality of life, morbidity, and mortality. In aged people, it has been associated with female sex, poor general health, depression, functional and cognitive decline, and increased dependence levels, all of which are well-recognized characteristics of patients with rheumatic diseases (RMDs). The objective was to describe the mistreatment phenomenon in Mexican patients with RMDs.

The choice of treatment and the motivations behind it impact clinical outcomes among patients with adequate control of their rheumatic disease: A real-life study.

Introduction: Many factors influence how doctors make treatment decisions. The study compares the outcomes of patients with rheumatic diseases and adequate control (AC) whose treating rheumatologists prescribed their first choice of treatment (FCHO) versus the second choice (SCHO) and the motivations behind them. It also investigates the motivations associated with FCHO.

Biopsychosocial factors are associated with impaired sexual function in Mexican patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic disease with worldwide representation that impacts every domain of a patient´s life, extending to sexual and reproductive domains. The study characterized sexual health (SH) and reproductive health (RH) in Mexican RA outpatients and identified factors associated with impaired sexual function (ISF).

Methods: From September 1, 2020-January 31, 2022, consecutive RA participants had semi-structured interviews focusing on their SH and RH biographies, and self-administered questionnaires were applied to assess patient-reported outcomes, including fatigue with the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Fatigue scale (FACIT-F).

Biological use influences the impact of inflammation on risk of major adverse cardiovascular events in rheumatoid arthritis.

Objectives: Chronic inflammation promotes cardiovascular risk in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (bDMARDs) improve disease activity and cardiovascular disease outcomes. We explored whether bDMARDs influence the impact of disease activity and inflammatory markers on long-term cardiovascular risk in RA.

Patients Journey Before Early Rheumatoid Arthritis Diagnosis Contributes to disease's Activity Level: A Real-Life Study.

Introduction: The help-seeking process in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients is challenging, and its study is limited in Latin America. The study describes the real-life journey before patients' incorporation into an early arthritis clinic (EAC) and its impact on baseline and 1-year cumulative disease activity levels.

Patients And Methods: The patient's journey was assessed through a questionnaire that captured the patient's path from the first disease-related symptom to the initial assessment in the EAC.

Differences in referral path, clinical and radiographic outcomes between seronegative and seropositive rheumatoid arthritis Mexican Mestizo patients: A cohort study.

Background: The study compared the referral path, the first two-year clinical outcomes, and the first five-year radiographic outcomes between seronegative patients (SNPs) from a recent-onset rheumatoid arthritis dynamic cohort initiated in 2004 and seropositive patients (SPPs). Predictors of incidental erosive disease were investigated.

Patients And Methods: Up to March 2023, one independent observer reviewed the charts from 188 patients with at least two years of clinical assessments and up to five years of annual radiographic assessments.

Pressure ulcers related to prone positioning: a pandemic amidst a pandemic.

Objective: To explore the epidemiology and risk factors associated with the development of pressure ulcers (PUs) in patients receiving prone positioning (PP) ventilatory therapy; to compare the inflammatory status of patients who develop PUs with those who do not; and to describe the experience and useful findings that have allowed us to improve the management of these patients to reduce the incidence of PUs.

Method: An observational, descriptive and longitudinal study was conducted, where sociodemographic and laboratory data were collected from patients who were hospitalised and required PP ventilatory therapy in critical care areas (CCA) during the months of May-October 2020.

Results: From the total number of patients who required PP during their CCA stay (n=240), 202 (84.

Sexual and reproductive health while living with rheumatoid arthritis: The impact of the disease stage on patient perspectives.

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is one of the most prevalent rheumatic diseases that harms all aspects of patients' lives, including sexual and reproductive health (SRH), often neglected in patients' care. The study aimed to explore the sexual and reproductive experiences of Mexican outpatients with RA from a narrative perspective.

Patients And Methods: From July 2020 to October 2021, 30 adult patients with RA from the Department of Immunology and Rheumatology outpatient clinic of a national referral center for rheumatic diseases had in-depth interviews audiotaped, transcribed, and analyzed using a thematic analysis approach.

Factors Associated With Distress Related to Perceived Dignity in Patients With Rheumatic Diseases.

Background: The loss of perceived dignity is an existential source of human suffering, described in patients with cancer and chronic diseases and hospitalized patients but rarely explored among patients with rheumatic diseases (RMDs). We recently observed that distress related to perceived dignity (DPD) was present in 26.9% of Mexican patients with different RMDs.

Perceived dignity is an unrecognized source of emotional distress in patients with rheumatic diseases: Results from the validation of the Mexican version of the Patient Dignity Inventory.

Introduction: Dignity has rarely been explored in patients with rheumatic diseases (RMDs), which contrasts with patients´ observations that dignity is a relevant area for research focus. The study's primary objective was to adapt and validate the Mexican version of the Patient Dignity Inventory (PDI-Mx) in patients with RMDs, and to estimate the proportion of patients with distress related to perceived dignity (DPD) assessed with the PDI-Mx.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was developed in 2 phases.

Sleep quality and predictors of optimal sleep in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: data from a recent-onset cohort.

Objectives: Sleep disorders are part of the symptomatology of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients and are related to disease characteristics and comorbidities. The study describes sleep quality among RA patients and identifies predictors of optimal sleep.

Methods: Patients whose data were analysed were identified from the recent-onset RA cohort initiated in 2004.

Sociocultural and moral narratives influencing the decision to vaccinate among rheumatic disease patients: a qualitative study.

Introduction/objectives: Vaccination is a process that involves individual, social, and ethical aspects, beyond public governance of vaccines or vaccination as a public health concern. The aim of this study is to describe the sociocultural and moral narratives that influence the decision to vaccinate in general and to vaccinate against COVID-19 specifically, among patients at the rheumatology units of two hospitals.

Methods: Qualitative study involving individual semi-structured interviews following an interview guide.

The COVID-19 epidemic curve and vaccine acceptance among patients with rheumatic diseases: an ecological study.

The attitudes toward emerging COVID-19 vaccines have been of great interest worldwide, especially among vulnerable populations such as patients with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases (RMDs). The aim of this study was to analyze the relationship between the nationwide number of COVID-19 cases and deaths, and vaccine acceptance or hesitancy of patients with RMDs from four patient care centers in Mexico. Furthermore, we explored differences in acceptance according to specific diagnoses: rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

The role of personality traits on self-medicated cannabis in rheumatoid arthritis patients: A multivariable analysis.

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients commonly report medicinal cannabis use (MCU). Personality has been independently associated with both RA-related outcomes and MCU, but there is no information available on how they interact in RA patients. This study aimed to investigate a potential association between personality traits and MCU in RA outpatients, as well as to identify additional factors associated with its use.

Factors Associated With Household Work Limitations in Mexican Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis: The Impact of the Disease on Women's Life.

Background: Little attention has been given to the impact of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) on domestic work, which remains the domain of women, particularly in the Latin American region. The study identified factors associated with RA-related household work limitations (HOWL) in Mexican for women with long-standing disease.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed between September 2020 and April 2022, in patients from the recent-onset RA cohort (initiated in 2004).

Telomeres Length Variations in a Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients Cohort at Early Disease Onset and after Follow-Up.

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease characterized by chronic synovial joint inflammation, progressive disability, premature immune aging, and telomere length (TL) shortening.

Objectives: The objective of the study was to study TL changes in patients at early disease onset and after follow-up.

Methods: Relative leukocyte TL (rLTL) was measured by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) in 88 at-admission patients (AAP) with < 1 year of symptoms onset, self-compared after follow-up, and a reference group of sex- and age-matched healthy individuals.

Impact of a hybrid medical care model in the rheumatoid arthritis patient-reported outcomes: A non-inferiority crossover randomized study.

Objective: Patients and physicians can naturally adopt hybrid healthcare models that combine face-to-face consultations with telemedicine. The study's objective was to compare the impact of two healthcare interventions, hybrid care modality and face-to-face consultation, on the patient-reported outcomes of rheumatoid arthritis patients, during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: Consecutive outpatients reincorporated to a clinic previously in lockdown were invited to a non-inferiority, randomized study (October 2020--May 2022).

Early persistence on therapy impacts drug-free remission: a case-control study in a cohort of Hispanic patients with recent-onset rheumatoid arthritis.

Background: Medication adherence is suboptimal in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients and impacts outcomes. DMARD-free remission (DFR) is a sustainable and achievable outcome in a minority of RA patients. Different factors have been associated with DFR, although persistence in therapy (PT), a component of the adherence construct, has never been examined.

Perception of risk and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on patients with rheumatic diseases: a case-control study.

Objectives: Risk perception of the COVID-19 pandemic may affect chronic disease outcomes among patients with rheumatic diseases (RD). To describe and compare the perception of risk and effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on patients with RD from two health care centers compared with a control group.

Methods: A retrospective case-control study was conducted.

Factors Associated With the Quality of the Patient-Doctor Relationship: A Cross-Sectional Study of Ambulatory Mexican Patients With Rheumatic Diseases.

Background: The patient-doctor relationship (PDR) is a complex phenomenon with strong cultural determinants, which impacts health-related outcomes and, accordingly, does have ethical implications. The study objective was to describe the PDR from medical encounters between 600 Mexican outpatients with rheumatic diseases and their attending rheumatologists, and to identify factors associated with a good PDR.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed.

How Do Mexican Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis Define Sexual and Reproductive Health? A Content Analysis Study.

Background: A patient-centered approach is essential for promoting sexual health (SH) and reproductive health (RH) in rheumatoid arthritis patients. The study aimed to describe and interpret Mexican rheumatoid arthritis outpatients' testimonies of their SH and RH definitions.

Methods: Qualitative and quantitative content analysis was conducted on free-text comments from 219 and 223 descriptions of patients' SH and RH definitions, respectively.

Comparison of Teleconsultations and In-Person Consultations from Outpatients with Rheumatoid Arthritis, During the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Internal Audit of Medical Notes.

The objectives of this study were to compare the quality-of-care and compliance with medical record regulations between in-person consultations (QIP and CIP) and telephone consultations (QTP and CTP), from rheumatoid arthritis (RA) outpatients, during the COVID-19 pandemic, and to explore the impact of the consultation modality on the treatment. Data from 324 medical notes corresponding to rheumatic consultations between July and December 2020 were abstracted. Notes were selected considering a stratified (in-person and telephone consultations) random sampling strategy.

Factors associated to COVID-19 vaccine acceptance in Mexican patients with rheumatic diseases: A cross-sectional and multicenter study.

COVID-19 vaccination is recommended in patients with rheumatic diseases (RDs) to prevent hospitalized COVID-19 and worse outcomes. However, patients' willingness to receive a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine and the associated factors vary across populations, vaccines, and time. The objective was to identify factors associated with COVID-19 vaccine acceptance (VA) in Mexican outpatients with RDs.

Quality of life of patients with rheumatic diseases during the COVID-19 pandemic: The biopsychosocial path.

Background: Previous models that assess quality-of-Life (QoL) in patients with rheumatic diseases have a strong biomedical focus. We evaluated the impact of COVID-19 related-health care interruption (HCI) on the physical, psychological, social relationships and environment QoL-dimensions, and explored factors associated with QoL when patients were reincorporated to the outpatient clinic, and after six-month follow-up.

Patients And Methods: Study phase-1 consisted of a COVID-19 survey administered from June 24th-October 31st 2020, to outpatients with rheumatic diseases who had face-to-face consultation at outpatient clinic reopening.

COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among Mexican outpatients with rheumatic diseases.

Vaccine hesitancy (VH) has emerged as a recognized threaten to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. Historically, low vaccine acceptance rates had been described among patients with rheumatic diseases (RMDs). The study objective was to determine COVID-19 VH among Mexican outpatients with RMDs and validate the COVID-19 VH questionnaire.