Disability Related to the Upper Extremities in Early Rheumatoid Arthritis-Long-Term Course and Disease Variable Impact: A Cohort Study.

Objective: To investigate the course of disability related to the upper extremities (UEs) in early rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and to assess correlations between such disability and clinical variables, including grip force.

Methods: In an inception cohort of patients with early RA (diagnosed 1995-2005, N = 222, follow-up 10 yrs), disability of the UEs was assessed using a subscore of the Health Assessment Questionnaire-Disability Index (HAQ-DI-UE), and average grip force of the dominant hand was measured. Changes between consecutive follow-up visits in the HAQ-DI-UE subscore, and correlations at each visit with key clinical variables, were assessed.

Incidence of Clinically Diagnosed Psoriatic Arthritis in Sweden.

Objective: Prior incidence estimates of psoriatic arthritis (PsA) vary considerably. We aimed to assess the annual incidence of clinically diagnosed PsA among adults in Sweden in 2014-2016, overall and stratified by age/sex/education/geography, and to investigate potential time trends in incidence in 2006-2018. Use of disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) during the 2 years after diagnosis was also examined.

Autoantibodies to joint-related peptides as predictive markers in early rheumatoid arthritis.

Objective: For better management of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), new biomarkers are needed to predict the development of different disease courses. This study aims to identify autoantibodies against epitopes on proteins in the joints and to predict disease outcome in patients with new onset RA.

Methods: Sera from new onset RA patients from the Swedish BARFOT and TIRA-2 cohorts (n = 1986) were screened for autoantibodies to selected peptides (JointIDs) in a bead-based multiplex flow immunoassay.

Risk and predictors of fractures in early rheumatoid arthritis - A long term follow up study of an inception cohort.

Objectives: To examine the risk of fractures in a cohort of patients with newly diagnosed rheumatoid arthritis (RA), compared to the background population, and predictors of fractures detectable early in RA.

Methods: An inception cohort of patients with RA (N = 233; 164 women/69 men, recruited 1995-2005) was evaluated according to a structured program, including repeated clinical assessments and measures of bone mineral density (BMD), from diagnosis to 10 years later. Matched population controls were identified using the national census register.

Circulating Interleukin 17A and Other Inflammatory Proteins May Predict Cardiovascular Disease in Early Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of 92 inflammatory proteins on the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods: This study included consecutive patients with early RA recruited between 1995 and 2002. Stored plasma samples were analyzed for 92 inflammatory proteins.

Associations between plasma metabolism associated proteins and future development of giant cell arteritis: results from a prospective study.

Objective: To investigate the relation between biomarkers associated with metabolism and subsequent development of giant cell arteritis (GCA).

Method: Participants in the population-based Malmö Diet Cancer Study (MDCS; N = 30447), who were subsequently diagnosed with GCA, were identified in a structured process. Matched GCA-free controls were selected from the study cohort.

Apolipoproteins and the risk of giant cell arteritis-a nested case-control study.

Background: The etiology of giant cell arteritis (GCA) and its predictors are incompletely understood. Previous studies have indicated reduced risk of future development of GCA in individuals with obesity and/or diabetes mellitus. There is limited information on blood lipids before the onset of GCA.

Cartilage destruction in early rheumatoid arthritis patients correlates with CD21 double-negative B cells.

Background: Involvement of B cells in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is supported by the presence of disease-specific autoantibodies and the efficacy of treatment directed against B cells. B cells that express low levels of or lack the B cell receptor (BCR) co-receptor CD21, CD21 B cells, have been linked to autoimmune diseases, including RA. In this study, we characterized the CD21 and CD21 B cell subsets in newly diagnosed, early RA (eRA) patients and investigated whether any of the B cell subsets were associated with autoantibody status, disease activity and/or joint destruction.

Mortality in patients with psoriatic arthritis in Sweden: a nationwide, population-based cohort study.

Objectives: To compare all-cause mortality and causes of death between patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and the general population in Sweden.

Methods: Adults with at least one main PsA diagnosis (International Classification of Diseases-10: L40.5/M07.

Osteoporosis-related fractures in men and women with established and early rheumatoid arthritis: predictors and risk compared with the general population.

Objectives: To study the risk of osteoporosis-related fractures in a community-based sample of men and women with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) overall, as well as early (< 1 year of disease duration, follow-up time maximum 10 years) and established (RA diagnosis since ≥ 5 years on July 1, 1997) RA, compared with the general population. To study potential risk factors for fractures in patients with RA from baseline questionnaire data.

Methods: A community-based cohort of patients with RA (n = 1928) was studied and compared to matched general population controls.

The National Prevalence of Clinically Diagnosed Psoriatic Arthritis in Sweden in 2017.

Objective: Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) prevalence estimates vary across studies; studies based on national data are few. We aimed to estimate the prevalence of clinically diagnosed PsA in Sweden in 2017, overall and stratified by sex, age, education, and geography, and to quantify disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD) use among those in contact with specialized rheumatology care between 2015 and 2017.

Methods: Individuals who were 18 to 79 years of age, alive and residing in Sweden on December 31, 2017, and had a prior PsA diagnosis were identified from the National Patient Register (NPR) and/or the Swedish Rheumatology Quality Register (SRQ).

Radiographic damage in early rheumatoid arthritis is associated with increased disability but not with pain-a 5-year follow-up study.

Objectives: To evaluate how radiographic damage, overall and measured as joint space narrowing score (JSNS) and erosion score (ES), as well as other clinical and laboratory measures, relate to disability and pain in early rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods: An inception cohort of 233 patients with early RA, recruited in 1995-2005, was followed for 5 years. Disability was assessed with the Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ), and pain with a visual analogue scale (VAS; 0-100 mm).

Autoantibodies to Disease-Related Proteins in Joints as Novel Biomarkers for the Diagnosis of Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Objective: This study was undertaken to develop and characterize a multiplex immunoassay for detection of autoantibodies against peptides derived from proteins known to play a role in development of arthritis and that are also expressed in joints.

Methods: We selected peptides from the human counterpart of proteins expressed in the joints, based on mouse models that showed these to be targeted by pathogenic or regulatory antibodies in vivo. Using bead-based flow immunoassays measuring IgG antibodies, we selected triple helical or cyclic peptides, containing the epitopes, to avoid collinear reactivity.

Analyses of plasma inflammatory proteins reveal biomarkers predictive of subsequent development of giant cell arteritis: a prospective study.

Objective: To investigate the relation between biomarkers of inflammation and subsequent development of GCA.

Method: Participants in the population-based Malmö Diet Cancer Study (MDCS; N = 30 447), established 1991-96, who were subsequently diagnosed with GCA, were identified in a structured process. GCA-free controls, matched for sex, year of birth and year of screening were selected from the study cohort.

Incident Gout and Risk of First-Time Acute Coronary Syndrome: A Prospective, Population-Based Cohort Study in Sweden.

Objective: To investigate the risk of first-time acute coronary syndrome (ACS) in a large cohort of primary and secondary care patients with incident gout compared to the general population.

Methods: Using register data for the period 2007-2017, we conducted a prospective, population-based cohort with 20,146 patients with incident gout (mean age 65.6 years; 67.

Male Sex Predicts a Favorable Outcome in Early ACPA-Negative Rheumatoid Arthritis: Data From an Observational Study.

Objective: The aim of the present study was to investigate whether the relationship between sex and clinical outcomes in early rheumatoid arthritis (RA) varies by autoantibody status.

Methods: Two inception cohorts of consecutive patients with early RA (ie, symptom duration ≤ 12 months) in the southern region of Sweden were investigated. Patients were stratified by anticitrullinated peptide antibody (ACPA) status.

Association between perinatal factors and future risk for gout-a nested case-control study.

Background: Increased level of urate is the strongest risk factor for gout development but since only a minority of hyperuricemics are affected by gout, other pathogenic factors must be considered. Low birth weight is associated with future morbidities causing hyperuricemia, such as diabetes and renal disease. The purpose of this study was to investigate if, and to what extent, maternal and perinatal factors, including birth weight, are associated with future risk of being diagnosed with gout.

Association between serum urate and CSF markers of Alzheimer's disease pathology in a population-based sample of 70-year-olds.

Introduction: The relationship between urate and biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathophysiology has not been investigated.

Methods: We examined whether serum concentration of urate was associated with cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers, amyloid beta (Aβ), Aβ, phosphorylated tau (p-tau), total tau (t-tau), neurofilament light (NfL), and Aβ/Aβ ratio, in cognitively unimpaired 70-year-old individuals from Gothenburg, Sweden. We also evaluated whether possible associations were modulated by the apolipoprotein E () ε4 allele.

Impact of psoriasis disease activity and other risk factors on serum urate levels in patients with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis-a analysis of pooled data from three phase 3 trials with secukinumab.

Objectives: Our aims were to determine if the Psoriasis Area Severity Index (PASI) score and serum urate (SU) levels were associated at baseline and whether the change in PASI score during 12 weeks of treatment resulted in a significant change in SU, adjusted for relevant confounders.

Methods: Data from patients with psoriasis/PsA ( = 1042/204) in three phase 3 randomized control trials treated with secukinumab (dose 300 mg,  = 628) or placebo ( = 414) were pooled. At baseline, values for SU, PASI and the following covariates were assessed: age, sex, BMI, estimated glomerular filtration rate, and medication with diuretics.