The effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines to prevent long COVID symptoms: staggered cohort study of data from the UK, Spain, and Estonia.

Background: Although vaccines have proved effective to prevent severe COVID-19, their effect on preventing long-term symptoms is not yet fully understood. We aimed to evaluate the overall effect of vaccination to prevent long COVID symptoms and assess comparative effectiveness of the most used vaccines (ChAdOx1 and BNT162b2).

Methods: We conducted a staggered cohort study using primary care records from the UK (Clinical Practice Research Datalink [CPRD] GOLD and AURUM), Catalonia, Spain (Information System for Research in Primary Care [SIDIAP]), and national health insurance claims from Estonia (CORIVA database).

Observational methods for COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness research: an empirical evaluation and target trial emulation.

Background: There are scarce data on best practices to control for confounding in observational studies assessing vaccine effectiveness to prevent COVID-19. We compared the performance of three well-established methods [overlap weighting, inverse probability treatment weighting and propensity score (PS) matching] to minimize confounding when comparing vaccinated and unvaccinated people. Subsequently, we conducted a target trial emulation to study the ability of these methods to replicate COVID-19 vaccine trials.

An Evaluation of Different Strategies for Sampling Controls in an Online Case-Crossover Study of Acute Flares in Knee Osteoarthritis.

Objective: To evaluate bias and precision of exposure-outcome effect estimates from three control sampling strategies in a case-crossover study.

Methods: Online case-crossover study investigating eight physical activity-related triggers for acute flares in knee osteoarthritis. Exposures were measured in hazard periods (≤24 hours before self-declared flare onset).

Determining cardiovascular risk in patients with unattributed chest pain in UK primary care: an electronic health record study.

Aims: Most adults presenting in primary care with chest pain symptoms will not receive a diagnosis ('unattributed' chest pain) but are at increased risk of cardiovascular events. To assess within patients with unattributed chest pain, risk factors for cardiovascular events and whether those at greatest risk of cardiovascular disease can be ascertained by an existing general population risk prediction model or by development of a new model.

Methods And Results: The study used UK primary care electronic health records from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink linked to admitted hospitalizations.

Diabetes as a risk factor for the onset of frozen shoulder: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective: Summarise longitudinal observational studies to determine whether diabetes (types 1 and 2) is a risk factor for frozen shoulder.

Design: Systematic review and meta-analysis.

Data Sources: MEDLINE, Embase, AMED, PsycINFO, Web of Science Core Collection, CINAHL, Epistemonikos, Trip, PEDro, OpenGrey and The Grey Literature Report were searched on January 2019 and updated in June 2021.

The effectiveness of corticosteroid injection versus night splints for carpal tunnel syndrome: 24-month follow-up of a randomized trial.

Objectives: This follow-up study of the INSTinCTS (INjection vs SplinTing in Carpal Tunnel Syndrome) trial compared the effects of corticosteroid injection (CSI) and night splinting (NS) for the initial management of mild-to-moderate CTS on symptoms, resource use and carpal tunnel surgery, over 24 months.

Methods: Adults with mild-to-moderate CTS were randomized 1:1 to a local corticosteroid injection or a night splint worn for 6 weeks. Outcomes at 12 and 24 months included the Boston Carpal Tunnel Questionnaire (BCTQ), hand/wrist pain intensity numeric rating scale (NRS), the number of patients referred for and undergoing CTS surgery, and healthcare utilization.

Radiographic validation of a self-report instrument for hallux valgus.

Background: Hallux valgus (HV) is a common condition causing substantial morbidity. Radiographic assessment is the gold standard for grading severity but is not always feasible in clinical/research settings. HV line-drawings, consisting of five drawings for each foot depicting a sequential increase in HV angle of 15°, have been clinically validated for self-reporting severity.

Identifying Long-Term Trajectories of Foot Pain Severity and Potential Prognostic Factors: A Population-Based Cohort Study.

Objectives: To identify distinct foot pain trajectories over 7 years and examine their associations with potential prognostic factors.

Methods: Adults ages ≥50 years and registered with 4 general practices in North Staffordshire, UK were mailed a baseline health survey. Those reporting current or recent foot pain were invited to attend a research assessment clinic.

Diabetes as a Prognostic Factor in Frozen Shoulder: A Systematic Review.

Objective: To summarize evidence from longitudinal observational studies to determine whether diabetes (types 1 and 2) is associated with the course of symptoms in people with frozen shoulder.

Data Sources: A systematic literature search of 11 bibliographic databases (published through June 2021), reference screening, and emailing professional contacts.

Study Selection: Studies were selected if they had a longitudinal observational design that included people diagnosed with frozen shoulder at baseline and compared outcomes at follow-up (>2wk) among those with and without diabetes at baseline.

Incidence and Progression of Hallux Valgus: A Prospective Cohort Study.

Objective: Hallux valgus is a common and disabling condition. The objective of the present study was to identify factors associated with hallux valgus incidence and progression.

Methods: Participants were from a population-based prospective cohort study, the Clinical Assessment Study of the Foot.

Triggers for acute flare in adults with, or at risk of, knee osteoarthritis: a web-based case-crossover study in community-dwelling adults.

Objective: To identify proximate causes ('triggers') of flares in adults with, or at risk of, knee osteoarthritis (OA), estimate their course and consequences, and determine higher risk individuals.

Methods: In this 13-week web-based case-crossover study adults aged ≥40 years, with or without a recorded diagnosis of knee OA, and no inflammatory arthropathy who self-reported a knee flare completed a questionnaire capturing information on exposure to 21 putative activity-related, psychosocial and environmental triggers (hazard period, ≤72 h prior). Comparisons were made with identical exposure measurements at four 4-weekly scheduled time points (non-flare control period) using conditional logistic regression.

Identification of Radiographic Foot Osteoarthritis: Sensitivity of Views and Features Using the La Trobe Radiographic Atlas.

Objective: To compare the sensitivity of alternative case finding approaches for the identification of foot osteoarthritis (OA) based on the La Trobe radiographic atlas.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of 533 adults age ≥50 years with foot pain in the past year. Weightbearing dorsoplantar (DP) and lateral radiographs were taken of both feet.

Indicators of dementia disease progression in primary care: An electronic health record cohort study.

Background And Purpose: The objectives were to assess the feasibility and validity of using markers of dementia-related health as indicators of dementia progression in primary care, by assessing the frequency with which they are recorded and by testing the hypothesis that they are associated with recognised outcomes of dementia. The markers, in 13 domains, were derived previously through literature review, expert consensus, and analysis of regional primary care records.

Methods: The study population consisted of patients with a recorded dementia diagnosis in the Clinical Practice Research Datalink, a UK primary care database linked to secondary care records.

Identification of patterns of foot and ankle pain in the community: Cross-sectional findings from the clinical assessment study of the foot.

Objectives: To investigate patterns of foot and ankle pain locations and symptoms, socio-demographic and comorbid characteristics to examine whether there are distinct foot and ankle pain phenotypes.

Methods: Adults aged ≥50 years registered with four general practices in North Staffordshire were mailed a Health Survey questionnaire. Participants reporting foot pain in the last month indicated foot pain location on a foot manikin.

The association between comorbidity and physical activity levels in people with osteoarthritis: Secondary analysis from two randomised controlled trials.

Objective: To determine whether comorbidity presence, frequency or type is associated with Physical Activity (PA) levels in people with Osteoarthritis (OA).

Design: Secondary data analysis of adults aged ≥45, with OA related pain recruited to the BEEP trial (knee pain, n = 514) (ISRCTN93634563) and the MOSAICS trial (peripheral joint pain, n = 525) (ISRCTN06984617). Comorbidities considered were respiratory, cardiovascular diseases (CVD), depression, type 2 diabetes and obesity.

Markers of dementia-related health in primary care electronic health records.

Objectives: Identifying routinely recorded markers of poor health in patients with dementia may help treatment decisions and evaluation of earlier outcomes in research. Our objective was to determine whether a set of credible markers of dementia-related health could be identified from primary care electronic health records (EHR).

Methods: The study consisted of (i) rapid review of potential measures of dementia-related health used in EHR studies; (ii) consensus exercise to assess feasibility of identifying these markers in UK primary care EHR; (iii) development of UK EHR code lists for markers; (iv) analysis of a regional primary care EHR database to determine further potential markers; (v) consensus exercise to finalise markers and pool into higher domains; (vi) determination of 12-month prevalence of domains in EHR of 2328 patients with dementia compared to matched patients without dementia.

Hallux valgus severity, great toe pain, and plantar pressures during gait: A cross-sectional study of community-dwelling adults.

Background: Hallux valgus (HV) is a common disabling condition affecting 36% of adults aged 65 years and over. Identifying whether the severity of the deformity alters weight-bearing patterns during walking may assist clinicians optimize offloading interventions. Therefore, we examined how plantar pressure distributions during walking are affected by HV severity.

Relative prevalence and distribution of knee, hand and foot symptomatic osteoarthritis subtypes in an English population.

In this brief report, we used data from a series of three related cohorts on pain and osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee, hand and foot, which were conducted in North Staffordshire, England. We used a common approach for sampling, data collection and coding, to estimate the relative prevalence of 10 different symptomatic radiographic OA subtypes in the knee, hand and foot and to compare their association with age, sex, socioeconomic position and body mass index. Overall, symptomatic hand OA was more common than knee or foot OA (22.

Plantar heel pain in middle-aged and older adults: population prevalence, associations with health status and lifestyle factors, and frequency of healthcare use.

Background: The objectives of this study were to estimate the population prevalence and distribution of plantar heel pain in mid-to-older age groups, examine associations with selected health status and lifestyle factors, and report the frequency of healthcare use.

Methods: Adults aged ≥50 years registered with four general practices were mailed a health survey (n = 5109 responders). Plantar heel pain in the last month was defined by self-reported shading on a foot manikin, and was defined as disabling if at least one of the function items of the Manchester Foot Pain and Disability Index were also reported.

Associations Between Calcaneal Enthesophytes and Osteoarthritis of the Hands and Feet.

Objective: To examine associations between calcaneal enthesophytes and osteoarthritis (OA) in the hands and feet, and to provide insights into the role of biomechanical and systemic processes in the development of OA.

Methods: Adults ages ≥50 years who were registered with 4 general practices were mailed a Health Survey. Responders reporting foot pain within the last 12 months underwent a detailed assessment, including hand and foot radiographs.

Acute Flares of Knee Osteoarthritis (the ACT-FLARE Study): Protocol for a Web-Based Case-Crossover Study in Community-Dwelling Adults.

Background: The cardinal feature of osteoarthritis (OA) is pain. Although heterogeneity in pain and function have been demonstrated in the long-term course of OA, the more proximate determinants of acute flare-ups remain less clear. How short-term intermittent or transient exposures trigger acute flare-ups has important implications for effective and sustainable self-management strategies.

Foot structure, pain and functional ability in people with gout in primary care: cross-sectional findings from the Clinical Assessment Study of the Foot.

Background: Gout frequently affects the foot yet relatively little is known about the effects of gout on foot structure, pain and functional ability. This study aimed to describe the impact of gout in a UK primary care population.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was nested within an observational cohort study of adults aged ≥50 years with foot pain.