Clustering regional patterns of left ventricular longitudinal strain in systemic sclerosis-related pulmonary hypertension.

Background: Systemic sclerosis-related pulmonary hypertension (SSc-PH) is a heterogeneous disease, often complicated by concomitant left ventricular (LV) dysfunction. However, the contribution of heterogeneity in LV dysfunction is unclear. The objective in this study was to identify regional clusters of LV longitudinal strain via echocardiography to determine how subgroups of LV dysfunction contribute to mortality in SSc-PH.

Comparison of definitions of early knee osteoarthritis for likelihood of progression at 2-year and 5-year follow-up: the Multicenter Osteoarthritis Study.

Background: Preventing worsening osteoarthritis (OA) in persons with early OA is a major treatment goal. We evaluated if different early OA definitions yielded enough cases of worsening OA within 2-5 years to make trial testing treatments feasible.

Methods: We assessed different definitions of early OA using data from Multicenter Osteoarthritis (MOST) Study participants who were followed up longitudinally.

Telehealth mindful exercise for people with knee osteoarthritis: A decentralized feasibility randomized controlled trial.

Objective: Negative psychological beliefs like fear avoidance and catastrophizing can interfere with exercise engagement in people with knee osteoarthritis (OA). Mindfulness, when integrated with exercise, could potentially address both psychological and physical impairments. Our objectives were to optimize and assess the feasibility of a novel telehealth, group-based mindful exercise intervention for people with knee OA.

Hip Abductor Weakness and Its Association With New or Worsened Knee Pain: Data From the Multicenter Osteoarthritis Study.

Objective: Hip abductors, important for controlling pelvic and femoral orientation during gait, may affect knee pain. Our objective was to evaluate the relation of hip abductor strength to worsened or new-onset frequent knee pain. Given previously noted associations of knee extensor strength with osteoarthritis in women, we performed sex-specific analyses.

Natural Walking Intensity in Persons With Parkinson Disease.

Background And Purpose: Few persons with Parkinson disease (PD) appear to engage in moderate-intensity walking associated with disease-modifying health benefits. How much time is spent walking at lower, yet still potentially beneficial, intensities is poorly understood. The purpose of this exploratory, observational study was to describe natural walking intensity in ambulatory persons with PD.

Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Physical Activity, Pain, Mood, and Sleep in Adults with Knee Osteoarthritis.

Objective: To examine changes in physical activity, sleep, pain and mood in people with knee osteoarthritis (OA) during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic by leveraging an ongoing randomized clinical trial (RCT).

Methods: Participants enrolled in a 12-month parallel two-arm RCT (NCT03064139) interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic wore an activity monitor (Fitbit Charge 3) and filled out custom weekly surveys rating knee pain, mood, and sleep as part of the study. Data from 30 weeks of the parent study were used for this analysis.

Reliability of Wearable Sensors for Assessing Gait and Chair Stand Function at Home in People With Knee Osteoarthritis.

Objective: To assess the reliability of wearable sensors for at-home assessment of walking and chair stand activities in people with knee osteoarthritis (OA).

Methods: Baseline data from participants with knee OA (n = 20) enrolled in a clinical trial of an exercise intervention were used. Participants completed an in-person laboratory visit and a video conference-enabled at-home visit.

Relation of Temporal Asymmetry During Walking to Two-Year Knee Pain Outcomes in Those With Mild-to-Moderate Unilateral Knee Pain: An Exploratory Analysis From the Multicenter Osteoarthritis Study.

Objective: We aimed to explore the cross-sectional relation of unilateral knee pain severity and temporal asymmetry during walking and to determine relations of temporal asymmetry during walking to 2-year changes in ipsilateral and contralateral knee pain in those with mild-to-moderate unilateral knee pain.

Methods: The Multicenter Osteoarthritis Study is a prospective cohort study of adults with or at risk for knee osteoarthritis. The current study included participants with unilateral knee pain.

Clinical characteristics and outcomes in pulmonary manifestations of systemic sclerosis: Contribution from pulmonary hypertension and interstitial lung disease severity.

Patients with systemic sclerosis complicated by both pulmonary hypertension (SSc-PH) and interstitial lung disease (SSc-PH-ILD) have poor prognosis compared to those with SSc-PH or SSc-ILD alone. Little is known of how ILD severity affects outcomes in those with SSc-PH, or how PH severity affects outcomes in those with SSc-ILD. Herein, we aimed to delineate clinical features of patients with SSc-PH and SSc-ILD and determine to what degree PH and ILD severity contribute to mortality in patients with SSc.

Prediction models for the risk of total knee replacement: development and validation using data from multicentre cohort studies.

Background: Few prognostic prediction models for total knee replacement are available, and the role of radiographic findings in predicting its use remains unclear. We aimed to develop and validate predictive models for total knee replacement and to assess whether adding radiographic findings improves predictive performance.

Methods: We identified participants with recent knee pain (in the past 3 months) in the Multicenter Osteoarthritis Study (MOST) and the Osteoarthritis Initiative (OAI).

Association of F-Fluorodeoxyglucose-Positron Emission Tomography Activity With Angiographic Progression of Disease in Large Vessel Vasculitis.

Objective: To assess whether vascular activity seen on F-fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) scan is associated with angiographic change in large vessel vasculitis (LVV).

Methods: Patients with LVV were recruited into a prospective cohort. All patients underwent magnetic resonance angiography or computed tomography angiography and FDG-PET imaging.

Calculating power for the Finkelstein and Schoenfeld test statistic for a composite endpoint with two components.

The Finkelstein and Schoenfeld (FS) test is a popular generalized pairwise comparison approach to analyze prioritized composite endpoints (eg, components are assessed in order of clinical importance). Power and sample size estimation for the FS test, however, are generally done via simulation studies. This simulation approach can be extremely computationally burdensome, compounded by increasing number of composite endpoints and with increasing sample size.

One Pill, Once a Day: Simplified Treatment Regimens and Retention in HIV Care.

Simplified drug regimens may improve retention in care for persons with chronic diseases. In April 2013, South Africa adopted a once-daily single-pill human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) treatment regimen as the standard of care, replacing a multiple-pill regimen. Because the regimens had similar biological efficacy, the shift to single-pill therapy offered a real-world test of the impact of simplified drug-delivery mechanisms on patient behavior.

A comparison of statistical methods to predict the residual lifetime risk.

Lifetime risk measures the cumulative risk for developing a disease over one's lifespan. Modeling the lifetime risk must account for left truncation, the competing risk of death, and inference at a fixed age. In addition, statistical methods to predict the lifetime risk should account for covariate-outcome associations that change with age.

Re-examining remission definitions in rheumatoid arthritis: considering the 28-Joint Disease Activity Score, C-reactive protein level and patient global assessment.

The Editors of the 5 journals of the American College of Rheumatology and European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology have been reminded by this editorial that ACR and EULAR have jointly agreed on various classification criteria, definitions, recommendations, or points to consider, which do not always find reflection in manuscripts submitted to the journals. Consequently, in the future, the Editors will enforce the use of the products obtained in the course of joint ACR/EULAR or EULAR/ACR activities in all respective papers. For rheumatoid arthritis this would mean use of the ACR/EULAR or EULAR/ACR classification criteria, remission definitions, recommendations on what to report in clinical trials, and others, as pertinent.