Publications by authors named "Sara K Tedeschi"
Objective: Calcium pyrophosphate deposition (CPPD) disease is associated with an increased risk for cardiovascular (CV) events. We examined the atherosclerotic burden by coronary artery calcium scores (Agatston score) and compared 10-year atherosclerotic CV (ASCVD) risk scores in patients with vs without chondrocalcinosis, a radiographic marker of CPPD.
Methods: We performed a cross-sectional analysis at an academic medical center, 1991-2022.
Objective: Our objective was to evaluate associations of weight reduction with serum urate (SU) changes and achieving an SU level <6 mg/dL in the real-world setting, outside of specific weight reduction interventions.
Methods: We analyzed systematically collected data of annual medical examination participants from October 2012 to October 2022. Exposure was weight change (increase or decrease) between two consecutive visits, categorized as minimal (≤0.
Introduction: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a common comorbidity of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The association of longitudinal RA disease activity with long-term kidney function has remained uncertain.
Method: We analysed a multicentre prospective RA registry in the USA from 2001 to 2022.
Objectives: Despite the well-established association between prediabetes and hyperuricaemia, knowledge about serum urate (SU) trends during the prediabetic phase is limited. Therefore, we aimed to assess the longitudinal changes of SU in individuals with prediabetes.
Methods: Individuals with prediabetes, defined by initial haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels between 5.
Article Synopsis
- The study aimed to analyze the disease, demographic, and imaging characteristics linked to different types of calcium pyrophosphate deposition (CPPD) disease, focusing on recurrent acute CPP crystal arthritis, chronic CPP crystal inflammatory arthritis, and crowned dens syndrome (CDS).
- Researchers utilized data from an international cohort of 618 individuals to investigate the phenotypic traits of each type of CPPD and performed multivariable logistic regression to assess associations between risk factors and inflammatory phenotypes.
- Key findings indicated that longer disease duration correlated with recurrent acute arthritis, while chronic arthritis was linked to specific joint issues and less associated with metabolic risks, and CDS was more common in males with greater joint involvement. *
Article Synopsis
- The study investigates the relationship between metformin use and the incidence of gout in adults with pre-diabetes, aiming to clarify how metformin affects gout risk.
- Researchers conducted a cohort study with 25,064 pre-diabetic individuals, comparing 1,154 metformin users to 13,877 non-users, and found that metformin users had a lower incidence rate of gout.
- The findings suggest that starting metformin may help reduce the risk of developing gout in people with pre-diabetes, highlighting its potential benefits beyond blood sugar management.
Objective: To investigate gout flare rates based on repeated serum urate (SU) measurements in a randomised controlled trial of urate-lowering therapy (ULT), accounting for dropout and death.
Methods: We performed a secondary analysis using data from Cardiovascular Safety of Febuxostat or Allopurinol in Patients with Gout, which randomised participants to febuxostat or allopurinol, titrated to target SU <6 mg/dL with flare prophylaxis for 6 months. SU was categorised as ≤3.
Article Synopsis
- The study investigated the long-term effects of changes in alcohol intake on serum urate (SU) levels, which are related to conditions like gout, using data from Japanese medical examinations between 2012 and 2022.
- It analyzed over 63,000 participants and found that reducing alcohol consumption, especially beer, was linked to minor reductions in SU levels.
- Although complete alcohol abstinence showed a slight improvement in SU levels for those with high uric acid, the overall impact of alcohol changes on SU was modest across the general population.
Objective: Calcium pyrophosphate deposition (CPPD) disease was associated with osteopenia in two cross-sectional studies. We compared fracture risks in patients with acute calcium pyrophosphate (CPP) crystal arthritis versus matched comparators.
Methods: We performed a longitudinal cohort study using electronic health record data from a single large academic health system, with data from 1991 to 2023.
Article Synopsis
- Calcium pyrophosphate deposition (CPPD) disease is common but previously lacked validated classification criteria, which have now been developed by the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) and EULAR.
- A multinational group established these criteria by generating lists of candidate items, refining definitions, and validating the framework through patient profiles and statistical analysis.
- The new criteria allow for CPPD classification based on specific symptoms, testing results, and a scoring system, demonstrating high sensitivity and specificity in identifying the disease.
Article Synopsis
- Calcium pyrophosphate deposition (CPPD) disease lacks established classification criteria, prompting the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) and EULAR to create the first validated criteria for symptomatic cases.
- A multinational team developed these criteria by analyzing patient profiles, defining candidate items, and employing decision-making methods to establish a scoring system for classification.
- The new criteria showed high sensitivity (92.2% in one cohort; 99.2% in another) and specificity (87.9% and 92.5%, respectively), making them effective tools for diagnosing CPPD disease and advancing research.
Objective: To estimate the effect of denosumab compared with oral bisphosphonates on reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes in adults with osteoporosis.
Design: Population based study involving emulation of a randomized target trial using electronic health records.
Setting: IQVIA Medical Research Data primary care database in the United Kingdom, 1995-2021.
Objective: Calcium pyrophosphate deposition (CPPD) disease prevalence is similar to that of gout and osteoarthritis (OA), yet CPPD outcomes research greatly lags behind research in these other forms of arthritis. We compared validated patient-reported outcome measures in patients with CPPD vs gout and OA.
Methods: Patients with CPPD were recruited from Brigham and Women's Hospital from 2018 to 2022.
Objective: Disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) that treat rheumatoid arthritis (RA) may reduce immune responses to COVID-19 vaccination. We compared humoral and cell-mediated immunity before and after a 3rd dose of mRNA COVID vaccine in RA subjects.
Methods: RA patients that received 2 doses of mRNA vaccine enrolled in an observational study in 2021 before receiving a 3rd dose.
Background: Patients with rheumatic disease may mount a suboptimal serologic response to COVID-19 vaccination. We evaluated predictors of low antibody response in a clinic-based cohort.
Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study using electronic health record (EHR) data at Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA.
Objective: To assess the reliability and diagnostic accuracy of new radiographic imaging definitions developed by an international multidisciplinary working group for identification of calcium pyrophosphate deposition (CPPD).
Methods: Patients with knee osteoarthritis scheduled for knee replacement were enrolled. Two radiologists and 2 rheumatologists twice assessed radiographic images for presence or absence of CPPD in menisci, hyaline cartilage, tendons, joint capsule, or synovial membrane, using the new definitions.
Objective: Electronic Health Record (EHR) based phenotyping is a crucial yet challenging problem in the biomedical field. Though clinicians typically determine patient-level diagnoses via manual chart review, the sheer volume and heterogeneity of EHR data renders such tasks challenging, time-consuming, and prohibitively expensive, thus leading to a scarcity of clinical annotations in EHRs. Weakly supervised learning algorithms have been successfully applied to various EHR phenotyping problems, due to their ability to leverage information from large quantities of unlabeled samples to better inform predictions based on a far smaller number of patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Ultraviolet (UV) radiation exposure is associated with photosensitivity, rashes, and flares in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). However, it is not known whether UV exposure increases risk of developing SLE. We examined UV exposure and SLE risk in a large prospective cohort.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Observational data are increasingly being used to conduct external comparisons to clinical trials. In this study, we empirically examined whether different methodological approaches to longitudinal missing data affected study conclusions in this setting.
Methods: We used data from one clinical trial and one prospective observational study, both Norwegian multicenter studies including patients with recently diagnosed rheumatoid arthritis and implementing similar treatment strategies, but with different stringency.
Objectives: Calcium pyrophosphate deposition (CPPD) disease, broadly defined, has been associated with increased risk of cardiovascular (CV) events. We investigated risk of CV events in patients with acute CPP crystal arthritis, the acute manifestation of CPPD.
Methods: Cohort study using Mass General Brigham electronic health record (EHR) data, 1991-2017.
Objective: To develop definitions for imaging features being considered as potential classification criteria for calcium pyrophosphate deposition (CPPD) disease, additional to clinical and laboratory criteria, and to compile example images of CPPD on different imaging modalities.
Methods: The American College of Rheumatology and European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology CPPD classification criteria Imaging Advisory Group (IAG) and Steering Committee drafted definitions of imaging features that are characteristic of CPPD on conventional radiography (CR), conventional computed tomography (CT), dual-energy CT (DECT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). An anonymous expert survey was undertaken by a 35-member Combined Expert Committee, including all IAG members.