The socioeconomic status of patients with ankylosing spondylitis and its association with the burden of the disease and permanent disability: a cross-sectional cluster analysis.

Background: Few studies have been conducted to investigate the socioeconomic profiles of patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and their associations with disease severity and disability.

Objectives: The objectives of this study were to identify clusters of patients with AS according to their socioeconomic characteristics and to evaluate the associations between these clusters and the severity of the disease and permanent disability.

Design: This was a cross-sectional and multicentre study.

Identification of the first signs or symptoms in different spondyloarthritis subtypes and their association with HLA-B27: data from REGISPONSER and RESPONDIA registries.

Objective: To describe and analyse the initial symptoms attributable to patients with spondyloarthritis (SpA) and their association with HLA-B27 status.

Methods: This was an observational, cross-sectional and multicentre study with patients who fulfilled the European Spondyloarthropathy Study Group criteria for SpA from the Registry of Spondyloarthritis of Spanish Rheumatology (REGISPONSER) and Ibero-American Registry of Spondyloarthropathies (RESPONDIA) united registries. Differences in the first sign(s) or symptom(s) were compared across diagnoses and between HLA-B27 status.

Peripheral spondyloarthritis: What have we learned?

The peripheral spondyloarthritis (pSpA) entity remains poorly defined in comparison with axial SpA and psoriatic arthritis, as the clinical symptoms have low specificity, the biological markers are virtually lacking, and dedicated randomized controlled trials in this specific indication remain scarce. In addition, clinical similarities between pSpA and psoriatic arthritis (PsA) have been described, partly explained by a resemblance in the pathophysiology of both entities. Thus, diagnosing pSpA can be challenging because of the overlap with other entities and the absence of a specific test or imaging study that can definitively diagnose the condition.

Differences between early vs. late-onset of psoriatic arthritis: Data from the RESPONDIA and REGISPONSER registries.

Objectives: The objective was to evaluate the association between the age at onset of psoriatic arthritis (PsA) symptoms with the characteristics and burden of the disease.

Methods: This was an observational and cross-sectional study that included a subgroup of 231 patients with PsA with < 10 years of disease duration from the REGISPONSER and RESPONDIA registries. Patients were divided into two groups according to the age of PsA symptom onset (early onset: ≤ 40-years-old and late onset: ≥ 60-years-old).

Smoking and alcohol consumption are associated with peripheral musculoskeletal involvement in patients with spondyloarthritis (including psoriatic arthritis). Results from the ASAS-PerSpA study.

Background: An inverse association between alcohol consumption and disease activity and functional impairment has been observed in patients with spondyloarthritis (SpA). However, neither this association nor the influence of smoking has been investigated in peripheral manifestations of SpA.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to analyze the association between smoking and alcohol consumption and the presence of peripheral musculoskeletal manifestations (arthritis, enthesitis or dactylitis) and to determine the specific location of these manifestations.

Relationship between onset of psoriasis and spondyloarthritis symptoms with clinical phenotype and diagnosis: data from REGISPONSER registry.

Background: The relationship of psoriasis and spondyloarthritis (SpA) is well-known, and the age of appearance of different manifestations has been described as a determinant of SpA phenotype. However, differences between Spa with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis (PsA) are still controversial.

Objectives: To evaluate whether the time of onset of psoriasis relative to the appearance of rheumatic symptoms in patients with SpA is associated with a clinical phenotype, a rheumatologist's diagnosis and the evolution of the disease.

Association between Carotid Intima-Media Thickness and the Use of Biological or Small Molecule Therapies in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Objective: The objective of this study was to assess the association of carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT), and also the presence of atheromatous plaque, with biological and targeted synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs, in an established cohort of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Patients And Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional observational study based on a cohort of patients with RA and a registry of healthy controls, in whom the CIMT and presence of atheromatous plaque were assessed by ultrasound. Data were collected on disease activity, lab results and treatments.

Paravertebral Muscle Mechanical Properties in Patients with Axial Spondyloarthritis or Low Back Pain: A Case-Control Study.

Different musculoskeletal disorders are a source of pain in the spinal region; most of them can be divided into mechanical, such as low back pain (LBP), or inflammatory origins, as is the case of axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA). Nevertheless, insufficient information is available about the muscle negative consequences of these conditions. Thus, the objective of this study was to identify whether mechanical muscle properties (MMPs) of cervical and lumbar muscles are different between patients with axSpA, subacute LBP (sLBP), and healthy controls.