High leptin levels in blood are associated with chronic widespread pain in rheumatoid arthritis.

Background: High body mass index (BMI) has been shown to have an association with chronic widespread pain (CWP), both in Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and in other pain conditions such as fibromyalgia. Research on the adipose tissue and it's adipokines, for example the well described leptin, is emerging. The objective of this study was to determine if there is an association between leptin levels in blood and CWP in patients with RA.

Baseline levels of circulating galectin-1 associated with radiographic hand but not radiographic knee osteoarthritis at a two-year follow-up.

Objective: We tested the potential of circulating galectin-1, interleukin (IL)-1 beta, IL-6, and tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF alpha) levels at baseline in individuals with knee pain as biomarkers for development of radiographic knee and/or hand osteoarthritis (OA).

Design: This study comprised 212 individuals with knee pain from the Halland osteoarthritis cohort (HALLOA). Clinical characteristics and serum/plasma levels of galectin-1, IL-1 beta, IL-6, and TNF alpha were measured at baseline, and knee and hand radiographs were obtained at a two-year follow-up.

Development of radiographic knee osteoarthritis and the associations to radiographic changes and baseline variables in individuals with knee pain: a 2-year longitudinal study.

Objectives: The aim was to study the development of radiographic knee osteoarthritis (RKOA) in individuals with knee pain over 2 years, and the associations between radiographic changes and baseline variables.

Design: Longitudinal cohort study.

Participants And Setting: This study is part of the Halland Osteoarthritis cohort.

Health literacy in individuals with knee pain-a mixed methods study.

Background: Low health literacy is associated with worse pain and poorer self-management. This study (1) examined the level of health literacy and associations with lifestyle habits, health status, chronic pain, and radiographic knee osteoarthritis; and (2) explored experiences illuminating health literacy among individuals with knee pain.

Methods: A convergent parallel mixed-methods design was used, including 221 individuals.

Associations between chronic widespread pain, pressure pain thresholds, leptin, and metabolic factors in individuals with knee pain.

Objective: The aim was to study associations between chronic widespread pain, widespread pain sensitivity, leptin, and metabolic factors in individuals with knee pain. A secondary aim was to study these associations in a subgroup of individuals with normal BMI.

Method: This cross-sectional study included 265 individuals.

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.

Erosion-free rheumatoid arthritis: clinical and conceptional implications-a BARFOT study.

Background: Bone erosions may appear early or later during rheumatoid arthritis (RA), causing joint damage and functional impairment. However, in some patients erosions do not occur, even after several years of disease. This study evaluates the prevalence, clinical relevance and possible predictors of erosion-free RA.

Experiences of Health-Promoting Activities among Individuals with Knee Pain: The Halland Osteoarthritis Cohort.

Knee pain is an early sign of knee osteoarthritis (KOA) and a risk factor for chronic widespread pain (CWP). Early prevention is vital, and more research is needed to understand health-promoting activities for individuals with knee pain from a patient perspective. This study aimed to explore how individuals with knee pain experienced health-promoting activities.

The effect of a tight control regime with monthly follow-up on remission rates and reported pain in early rheumatoid arthritis.

Objective: To determine whether a tight control (TC) regime with monthly consultations to the physician for the first 6 months, could increase remission rate and improve reported pain of patients with early rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods: In this single-centre, TC study, with monthly visits to the physician, a cohort of 100 patients with early RA was consecutively included. They were compared with a reference cohort of 100 patients from the same clinic that had been conventionally managed.

Experiences of How Health and Lifestyle among Individuals with Knee Pain Have Been Influenced during the COVID-19 Pandemic, a HALLOA Study.

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the health and lifestyles of both the general population and of vulnerable groups. Individuals with knee pain are recommended to lead an active lifestyle to relieve pain but find it difficult to maintain health and lifestyle compared to the general population due to the cause of chronic pain, impaired physical function, and a diminished quality of life. This study aimed to explore experiences of how health and lifestyle among individuals with knee pain have been influenced during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cohort profile: the Halland osteoarthritis (HALLOA) cohort-from knee pain to osteoarthritis: a longitudinal observational study in Sweden.

Purpose: The overall objective in this study is to investigate the early development of radiographic knee osteoarthritis (OA) and its association with hand or/and knee OA, metabolic diseases, biomarkers, chronic pain, physical function and daily physical activity types.

Participants: The Halland osteoarthritis (HALLOA) cohort is a longitudinal cohort study that includes individuals with knee pain in the southwest of Sweden. Enrolment took place from 2017 to 2019.

Comparison of chronic widespread pain prevalence with different criteria in two cohorts of rheumatoid arthritis.

Objective: This study aims to investigate chronic widespread pain with the 1990 (CWP1990) and 2019 (CWP2019) definitions 6 years after the onset of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), in one patient cohort with tight controls and one conventional cohort, and factors associated with reporting CWP1990 and CWP2019, respectively.

Methods: A cohort of 80 RA patients with monthly visits to the physician the first 6 months was compared to a cohort of 101 patients from the same clinic with conventional follow-up. Both cohorts had early RA (< 13 months).

Lifestyle factors in patients with rheumatoid arthritis-a cross-sectional study on two Scandinavian cohorts.

Introduction: The risk for cardiovascular diseases and other comorbidities increases with the number of unhealthy lifestyle factors in the general population. However, information on the combined number of unhealthy lifestyle factors in people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is scarce.

Objectives: To study lifestyle factors and the association between disease impact and two or more unhealthy lifestyle factors in two Scandinavian cohorts with RA.

Pain in rheumatoid arthritis: a seven-year follow-up study of pain distribution and factors associated with transition from and to chronic widespread pain.

Objective: To study transitions from and to chronic widespread pain (CWP) over 7 years in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Method: Two postal questionnaires were sent to patients included in the BARFOT (Better Anti-Rheumatic Pharmacotherapy) study, the first in 2010 and the second in 2017. The questionnaires assessed pain, number of tender and swollen joints, functional disability, health-related quality of life (HRQoL), pharmacological treatment, lifestyle factors, and patient-reported body mass index (BMI).

Higher levels of anti-phosphorylcholine autoantibodies in early rheumatoid arthritis indicate lower risk of incident cardiovascular events.

Background: The increased risk of cardiovascular events (CVE) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is not fully explained by traditional risk factors. Immuno-inflammatory mechanisms and autoantibodies could be involved in the pathogenesis of atherosclerotic disease. It has been suggested that anti-phosphorylcholine antibodies (anti-PC) of the IgM subclass may have atheroprotective effects.

Pressure pain thresholds in individuals with knee pain: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Knee osteoarthritis (KOA), chronic widespread pain (CWP) and overweight/obesity are public health problems that often coincide, and there is a multifactorial and unclear relationship between them. The study aimed to (1) investigate pain sensitivity, assessed by pressure pain thresholds (PPTs), among women and men with knee pain and (2) associations with, respectively, radiographic KOA (rKOA), CWP, and overweight/obesity.

Methods: Baseline data from an ongoing longitudinal study involving 280 individuals with knee pain in the 30-60 age group.

Influence of Age and Sex on Disease Course and Treatment in Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Objective: More than 50% of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are >65 years at diagnosis. Age of onset and sex may influence the disease course, outcome and treatment. This study follows a large cohort of patients with early RA to assess contributions of age and sex to disease outcomes.

Reported disability in relation to observed activity limitation, grip strength and physical function in women and men with rheumatoid arthritis.

Background: The self-reported Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) is specifically designed to assess disability in arthritic patients. In many studies women report higher functional disability than men. The reasons for this difference are suggested to be multifactorial.

Disease activity trajectories in rheumatoid arthritis: a tool for prediction of outcome.

: Predicting treatment response and disease progression in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) remains an elusive endeavour. Identifying subgroups of patients with similar progression is essential for understanding what hinders improvement. However, this cannot be achieved with response criteria based on current versus previous Disease Activity Scores, as they lack the time component.

Chronic widespread pain and its associations with quality of life and function at a 20- year follow-up of individuals with chronic knee pain at inclusion.

Objective: To study the prevalence of chronic widespread pain (CWP) and chronic regional pain (CRP), and their association to quality of life, pain, physical function at a 20-year follow-up in a population based cohort with chronic knee pain at inclusion.

Methods: 121 individuals (45% women, mean age 64 years, range 54-73) with chronic knee pain from a population-based cohort study, answered a questionnaire and had radiographic knee examination at a 20-year follow-up. The responders were divided into three groups according to reported pain; individuals having no chronic pain (NCP), chronic widespread pain (CWP) and chronic regional pain (CRP).

Discussions of lifestyle habits as an integral part of care management: a cross-sectional cohort study in patients with established rheumatoid arthritis in Sweden.

Objectives: The primary aim was to determine whether patients with RA recalled having discussions concerning lifestyle habits during their health-care visits. The secondary aim was to study the association between patients' reported lifestyle and their wish to discuss it.

Methods: A postal questionnaire sent to 1542 eligible patients from the Better Anti-Rheumatic Pharmacotherapy (BARFOT) study included questions on lifestyle habits (physical activity, diet, smoking and alcohol), on whether these were discussed during health-care visits and on whether there was an interest in such discussions.

Increased risk of osteoporotic fractures in Swedish patients with rheumatoid arthritis despite early treatment with potent disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs: a prospective general population-matched cohort study.

: To study the difference in incidence and risk of fragility fractures between rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients followed up early in the disease and the general population in Sweden; and the fracture risk changes in RA patients diagnosed in the 1990s and 2000s because of earlier, more potent pharmacological treatment in the later period.: Patients with early RA were recruited from the BARFOT cohort, a Swedish multicentre observational study of early RA patients (n = 2557). All patients fulfilled 1987 American College of Rheumatology criteria and were included between 1992 and 2006.

Reasons to stop drinking alcohol among patients with rheumatoid arthritis in Sweden: a mixed-methods study.

Objectives: The aims were to identify patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who had stopped drinking alcohol and compare them with patients drinking alcohol, and to explore reasons for stopping drinking alcohol.

Design: A sequential explanatory mixed methods design was used.

Setting: Six rheumatology clinics in Southern Sweden Better Anti-Rheumatic FarmacOTherapy cohort.

Importance of Measuring Hand and Foot Function Over the Disease Course in Rheumatoid Arthritis: An Eight-Year Follow-Up Study.

Objective: To assess function using the Signals of Functional Impairment (SOFI) instrument over 8 years, to study clinical variables associated with the change, and to study change over time of the SOFI items.

Methods: In total, 1,223 patients with early rheumatoid arthritis (RA) from the Better Anti-Rheumatic Farmacotherapy (BARFOT) cohort (mean ± SD age 56.9 ± 15.

Cone-beam computed tomography, a new low-dose three-dimensional imaging technique for assessment of bone erosions in rheumatoid arthritis: reliability assessment and comparison with conventional radiography - a BARFOT study.

Objectives: To determine the intra- and inter-observer agreement of erosions detected and scored with cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) of bones in the hands and feet, and to compare CBCT with conventional radiography (CR) for assessment of bone erosions in patients with long-standing rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Method: Thirty patients with long-standing RA from the Better Anti-Rheumatic PharmacOTherapy (BARFOT) cohort were examined with CBCT and CR of hands and feet at their 15 year follow-up. Intra- and inter-class correlation coefficients (ICCs) were calculated.