Development and Validation of a Short Form of the Social Role Participation Questionnaire in Patients with Ankylosing Spondylitis.

Objective: The Social Role Participation Questionnaire (SRPQ) assesses the influence of health on 11 specific roles and 1 general role along 4 dimensions. In this study, a shortened version of the SRPQ (s-SRPQ) was developed in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) to facilitate data collection in clinical studies and practice.

Methods: Using data from 246 patients with AS and population controls, the fit of each role to the different participation dimensions, the contribution of each role to the measurement precision, and the correlation between dimensions were evaluated using item response theory.

Feasibility and preliminary effectiveness of a physical exercise training program during neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy in individual patients with rectal cancer prior to major elective surgery.

Background: Diverse fractions of patients with locally advanced resectable rectal cancer receive neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (NACRT). NACRT is known to decrease physical fitness, an undesirable side effect. This pilot aimed to determine the feasibility and preliminary effectiveness of a supervised outpatient physical exercise training program during NACRT in these patients.

Insulin glargine use and breast cancer risk: Associations with cumulative exposure.

Background: This study was aimed to assess the risk of breast cancer associated with exposure to insulin glargine in women with type 2 diabetes and evaluate whether the pattern of risk concurs with the hypothesized trend of an increase in risk with longer duration of use, taking into account previous cumulative exposure to other types of insulin.

Methods: We performed a restrospective cohort study (2002-2013) in the Clinical Practice Research Datalink among adult female patients with a first ever insulin prescription (n = 12 468). Time-dependent exposure measures were used to assess associations with duration of use of: (1) other insulin types before glargine was first prescribed (i.

The challenging interplay between rheumatoid arthritis, ageing and comorbidities.

Background: The incidence of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is expected to increase over the next 10 years in the European Union because of the increasing proportion of elderly people. As both RA and ageing are associated with emerging comorbidities such as cardiovascular disease, malignancies and osteoporosis, these factors will have a profound effect on the management of RA. In addition, both increasing age and comorbidities may independently alter commonly used RA-specific outcome measures.

Update on Prevalence of Pain in Patients With Cancer: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Context: Cancer pain has a severe impact on quality of life and is associated with numerous psychosocial responses. Recent studies suggest that treatment of cancer pain has improved during the last decade.

Objectives: The aim of this review was to examine the present status of pain prevalence and pain severity in patients with cancer.

Tobacco control policies and perinatal health: a national quasi-experimental study.

We investigated whether changes in perinatal outcomes occurred following introduction of key tobacco control policies in the Netherlands: smoke-free legislation in workplaces plus a tobacco tax increase and mass media campaign (January-February 2004); and extension of the smoke-free law to the hospitality industry, accompanied by another tax increase and mass media campaign (July 2008). This was a national quasi-experimental study using Netherlands Perinatal Registry data (2000-2011; registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02189265).

A Web-Based Computer-Tailored Alcohol Prevention Program for Adolescents: Cost-Effectiveness and Intersectoral Costs and Benefits.

Background: Preventing excessive alcohol use among adolescents is important not only to foster individual and public health, but also to reduce alcohol-related costs inside and outside the health care sector. Computer tailoring can be both effective and cost-effective for working with many lifestyle behaviors, yet the available information on the cost-effectiveness of computer tailoring for reducing alcohol use by adolescents is limited as is information on the costs and benefits pertaining to sectors outside the health care sector, also known as intersectoral costs and benefits (ICBs).

Objective: The aim was to assess the cost-effectiveness of a Web-based computer-tailored intervention for reducing alcohol use and binge drinking by adolescents from a health care perspective (excluding ICBs) and from a societal perspective (including ICBs).

Policy options to contain healthcare costs: a review and classification.

Containing health care costs has been a challenge for most OECD member states. We classify 2250 cost containment policies in forty-one groups of policy options. This conceptual framework might act as a toolkit for policymakers that seek to develop strategies for cost control; and for researchers that seek to evaluate them.

Distinct Longitudinal Associations of MBL, MASP-1, MASP-2, MASP-3, and MAp44 With Endothelial Dysfunction and Intima-Media Thickness: The Cohort on Diabetes and Atherosclerosis Maastricht (CODAM) Study.

Objective: Previous studies suggested that the lectin-complement pathway plays a complex role in cardiovascular disease (CVD). To date, no prospective human studies have investigated the relationship between the initiating factor of the lectin pathway, that is, mannose-binding lectin (MBL), and low-grade inflammation, endothelial dysfunction, or carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT). Moreover, MBL-associated proteases (MASPs) and MBL-associated proteins (MAps), which mediate downstream complement activation, have not been studied in the development of CVD.

The development of a personalized patient education tool for decision making for postmenopausal women with osteoporosis.

Unlabelled: A personalized patient education tool for decision making (PET) for postmenopausal women with osteoporosis was developed by means of a systematic development approach. A prototype was constructed and refined by involving various professionals and patients. Professionals and patients expressed a positive attitude towards the use of the PET.

Schools as smoke-free zones? Barriers and facilitators to the adoption of outdoor school ground smoking bans at secondary schools.

Background: Whereas smoking bans inside secondary school buildings are relatively widespread, a smoking ban for the outdoor school grounds is less common. Therefore, this study investigates why many secondary schools fail to adopt an outdoor school ground smoking ban. The aim is to elucidate the perceived barriers and facilitators of stakeholders at schools without an outdoor school ground smoking ban.

Status of Emergency Contraceptives in Europe One Year after the European Medicines Agency's Recommendation to Switch Ulipristal Acetate to Non-Prescription Status.

Background: In November 2014, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) recommended switching the emergency contraceptive (EMC) ulipristal acetate to non-prescription status. This study's objective is to assess the current legal status of the two EMCs ulipristal acetate and levonorgestrel in Europe and to report on the development of sales figures for EMCs since they were made freely available.

Methods: Health authorities were contacted in autumn 2015 and asked about the current status of EMCs and whether the sales figures had changed after a switch to non-prescription status.

Pressure ulcers in four Indonesian hospitals: prevalence, patient characteristics, ulcer characteristics, prevention and treatment.

The objective of this article was to study characteristics of pressure ulcer patients and their ulcers, pressure ulcer preventive and treatment measures in four Indonesian general hospitals. A multicentre cross-sectional design was applied to assess pressure ulcers and pressure ulcer care in adult patients in medical, surgical, specialised and intensive care units. Ninety-one of the 1132 patients had a total of 142 ulcers.

Implementation of web-based interventions by Dutch occupational health centers.

The aim of this qualitative study was to identify barriers and facilitators to the adoption and particularly the implementation of a web-based computer-tailored obesity prevention intervention by occupational health centers. Participants were directors of Dutch occupational health centers who had adopted and implemented the intervention for the corresponding efficacy study (n = 8) as well as non-adopters (n = 12). Individual semi-structured interviews were carried out to study barriers and facilitators related to the intervention, the user, the organization, and the socio-political environment.

Consumption of dairy foods in relation to impaired glucose metabolism and type 2 diabetes mellitus: the Maastricht Study.

Observational studies suggest an inverse association between total dairy product intake and diabetes risk. However, there is a lack of information on the relationship of specific dairy products with impaired glucose metabolism (IGM) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Individuals aged 40-75 years were recruited for the Maastricht Study.

Association between exhaled inflammatory markers and asthma control in children.

The relationship between exhaled inflammatory markers and asthma control in children is unclear. To explore the association between inflammatory markers in exhaled breath (fractional nitric oxide (FeNO), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), cytokines/chemokines) and asthma control. To assess whether exhaled inflammatory markers are able to discriminate between children with persistently controlled/uncontrolled asthma.

Do extra-articular manifestations influence outcome in ankylosing spondylitis? 12-year results from OASIS.

Objectives: To assess in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) whether extra-articular manifestations (EAMs) are associated with worse functioning, worse quality of life (QoL), and more radiographic damage over time.

Methods: 12-year follow-up data from the Outcome in Ankylosing Spondylitis International Study were used, complemented with data on EAMs extracted from medical charts. Functioning was assessed by the BASFI and physical component of the SF-36, QoL by ASQoL and EuroQoL, and radiographic damage by the mSASSS.

Effects of a Web-Based Computer-Tailored Game to Reduce Binge Drinking Among Dutch Adolescents: A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Binge drinking among Dutch adolescents is among the highest in Europe. Few interventions so far have focused on adolescents aged 15 to 19 years. Because binge drinking increases significantly during those years, it is important to develop binge drinking prevention programs for this group.

Risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes in women with periodontal disease and the effectiveness of interventions in decreasing this risk: protocol for systematic overview of systematic reviews.

Background: Periodontal disease is an inflammatory disease of the tissues supporting the teeth. Women who have periodontal disease while pregnant may be at risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes. Although the association between periodontal disease and adverse pregnancy outcomes has been addressed in a considerable number of systematic reviews and meta-analyses, there are important differences in the conclusions of these reviews.

Direct comparison of clinical decision limits for cardiac troponin T and I.

Objective: The 99th percentile upper reference limit of high-sensitivity cardiac troponin (hs-cTn) from a healthy reference population is used for diagnosing acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Accepted current thresholds of hs-cTnT (Roche) and hs-cTnI (Abbott) are 14 and 26 ng/L, respectively. Since thresholds for hs-cTnT and hs-cTnI were derived from different reference cohorts it is unclear whether they are biologically equivalent.

The impact of redesigning care processes on quality of care: a systematic review.

Background: This literature review evaluates the current state of knowledge about the impact of process redesign on the quality of healthcare.

Methods: Pubmed, CINAHL, Web of Science and Business Premier Source were searched for relevant studies published in the last ten years [2004-2014]. To be included, studies had to be original research, published in English with a before-and-after study design, and be focused on changes in healthcare processes and quality of care.

C-reactive protein point-of-care testing and antibiotic prescribing for acute respiratory tract infections in rural primary health centres of North Ethiopia: a cross-sectional study.

Unjustified antibiotic prescribing for acute upper respiratory infections (URTIs) is probably more common in poor-resource settings where physicians are scarce. Introducing C-reactive protein (CRP) point-of-care testing in such settings could reduce the misuse of antibiotics, which could avert antibiotic resistance. However, information useful for the applicability of CRP test in resource-limited settings is lacking.