Dementia and Emergency Department Use in Older Adults With Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: An Administrative Claims Data Analysis of Medicare Beneficiaries.

Background/objective: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is associated with increased dementia risk. Whether this association is present among older adults with SLE is unclear. Further, whether individuals with concomitant SLE and dementia are at increased risk of emergency department (ED) use has not been explored.

Psychometric Evaluation of the Scleroderma Skin Questionnaire: A Novel Patient Reported Outcome for Skin Disease in Patients with Systemic Sclerosis.

Objective: To evaluate the psychometric properties of the Scleroderma Skin Questionnaire (SSQ), a novel patient-reported outcome (PRO) to assess systemic sclerosis (SSc) related skin symptoms.

Methods: The SSQ was administered to 799 adults (mean age 52.7; 82% female) enrolled in the SSc Collaborative National Quality and Efficacy Registry (CONQUER).

Self-Perceptions of Aging and Physical Activity in Older Adults with Arthritis: Impact of General Health.

How negative self-perceptions of aging relate to physical activity (PA) in older adults with arthritis is unclear. We examined whether general health mediated the relationship between Awareness of Age-Related change (AARC) losses and PA. We analyzed baseline data from a randomized controlled trial of a PA intervention for adults ≥60 years who self-reported PA, AARC, general health, pain, and social support.

Frailty in older adults with systemic lupus erythematosus and emergency department utilization: an administrative claims data analysis of Medicare beneficiaries.

Introduction / Objectives: While presence of concomitant SLE and frailty has been associated with greater emergency department (ED) use than SLE alone in young/mid-aged adults, whether frailty increases ED use in older adults with SLE remains unknown. In a nationally representative United States administrative claims dataset, we investigated the association of frailty duration with use of ED services in the SLE population compared with individuals without systemic rheumatic disease (SRD).

Method: We identified Medicare beneficiaries ≥ 65 years with SLE and matched them (1:4) by age and gender with non-SRD comparators with osteoarthritis.

Flares of Systemic Autoimmune Rheumatic Disease Following Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vaccination: A Narrative Review.

This narrative review summarizes current evidence on the risk of systemic autoimmune rheumatic disease (SARD) flare following coronavirus disease 2019 vaccination. The authors detail key studies in the literature employing diverse methodologies, including cross-sectional surveys, prospective and retrospective cohorts, case-crossover designs, self-controlled case series, and systematic reviews. Data are reassuring, suggesting that vaccination is unlikely to increase the risk of flares across a range of SARD.