The Cross-Cultural Differences in Perceived Stress of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Schoolchildren from Russia and Kyrgyzstan With Normal and High Levels of Anxiety and Depression

Children and youth of school age form a special population group highly sensitive to various stressors and negative effects in everyday life. The COVID-19 pandemic crisis characterized by uncertainty, vulnerability, changes in quality of life together with urgent transition to distant/online learning affected significantly psychological well-being of children and youth. The aim of this study was to assess the cross-cultural differences in actual stress in Russian and Kyrgyz schoolchildren with high and low levels of anxiety and depression during the initial stage of the COVID-19 pandemic and after a year life during the pandemic. The descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted via an online survey completed by total 1834 schoolchildren aged from 13 to 18 from Russia and Kyrgyzstan, the periods of survey: 10th May - 10th June, 2020; 18th May -15th June, 2021. The Perceived Stress Scale and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale were used to assess stress, anxiety and depression scores. The findings suggest that there are cross-cultural differences in perceived stress amongst schoolchildren with high level of depression and anxiety: Russian respondents in 2021 demonstrated less pronounced index of the perceived stress than Kyrgyz schoolchildren. The stress level of Kyrgyz schoolchildren increased significantly in 2021 in comparison to the period of outbreak of the pandemic. In 2021 in both countries we found the same pattern: girls had significantly more pronounced stress than boys. The results disclose important aspects of the impact of COVID-19 on schoolchildren and demonstrate the emerging need of psychological aid and for supporting schoolchildren mental health

Nailfold capillaroscopy in systemic sclerosis: data from the EULAR scleroderma trials and research (EUSTAR) database

OBJECTIVE: The aims of this study were to obtain cross-sectional data on capillaroscopy in an international multi-center cohort of Systemic Sclerosis (SSc) and to investigate the frequency of the capillaroscopic patterns and their disease-phenotype associations. METHODS: Data collected between June 2004 and October 2011 in the EULAR Scleroderma Trials and Research (EUSTAR) registry were examined. Patients' profiles based on clinical and laboratory data were obtained by cluster analysis and the association between profiles and capillaroscopy was investigated by multinomial logistic regression. RESULTS: 62 of the 110 EUSTAR centers entered data on capillaroscopy in the EUSTAR database. 376 of the 2754 patients (13.65%) were classified as scleroderma pattern absent, but non-specific capillary abnormalities were noted in 55.48% of the cases. Four major patients' profiles were identified characterized by a progressive severity for skin involvement, as well as an increased number of systemic manifestations. The "early" and "active" scleroderma patterns were generally observed in patients with mild/moderate skin involvement and a low number of disease manifestations, while the "late" scleroderma pattern was found more frequently in the more severe forms of the disease. CONCLUSION: These data indicate the importance of capillaroscopy in SSc management and that capillaroscopic patterns are directly related to the extent of organ involvement

A comparison between nailfold capillaroscopy patterns in adulthood in juvenile and adult-onset systemic sclerosis: a EUSTAR exploratory study

Objective: Qualitative capillaroscopy patterns in juvenile- and adult-onset systemic sclerosis (SSc) were studied in adulthood using data from the EULAR Scleroderma Trials and Research (EUSTAR) database. Methods: Data collected between June 2004 and April 2013 were examined with focus on capillaroscopy. In this retrospective exploratory study, series of patients with juvenile-onset SSc were matched with series of adult-onset SSc having the same gender and autoantibody profile. Results: 30 of 123 patientswith juvenile-onset and 2108 of 7133with adult-onset SSc had data on capillaroscopy. Juvenile-onset SSc showed scleroderma pattern more frequently than adult-onset SSc (93.3% and 88%). The OR was 2.44 and 95% CI 0.57–10.41. An active scleroderma pattern was present in 58% of juvenile- and 61% of adult-onset SSc. The OR was 0.91 and 95% CI 0.28–2.93. The late scleroderma pattern was present in 61% of juvenile- and 55.5% of adult-onset SSc. The OR was 1.06 and 95% CI 0.34–3.56. Conclusion: This is the first exploratory study on the comparison of capillaroscopy between juvenile- and adult-onset SSc in adulthood. Juvenile-onset SSc had an increase prevalence of scleroderma pattern, but a similar distribution of the three patterns was suggested. Further studies are needed to define this issue. © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

Joint and tendon involvement predict disease progression in systemic sclerosis: A EUSTAR prospective study

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether joint synovitis and tendon friction rubs (TFRs) can predict the progression of systemic sclerosis (SSc) over time. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We performed a prospective cohort study that included 1301 patients with SSc from the EUSTAR database with disease duration 643 years at inclusion and with a follow-up of at least 2 years. Presence or absence at clinical examination of synovitis and TFRs was extracted at baseline. Outcomes were skin, cardiovascular, renal and lung progression. Overall disease progression was defined according to the occurrence of at least one organ progression. RESULTS: Joint synovitis (HR: 1.26, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.59) and TFRs (HR: 1.32, 95% CI 1.03 to 1.70) were independently predictive of overall disease progression, as were also the diffuse cutaneous subset (HR: 1.30, 95% CI 1.05 to 1.61) and positive antitopoisomerase-I antibodies (HR: 1.25, 95% CI 1.02 to 1.53). Regarding skin progression, joint synovitis (HR: 1.67, 95% CI 1.06 to 2.64) and TFRs (HR: 1.69, 95% CI 1.02 to 2.77) were also independently predictive of worsening of the modified Rodnan skin score. For cardiovascular progression, joint synovitis was predictive of the occurrence of new digital ulcer(s) (HR: 1.45, 95% CI 1.08 to 1.96) and decreased left ventricular ejection fraction (HR: 2.20, 95% CI 1.06 to 4.57); TFRs were confirmed to be an independent predictor of scleroderma renal crisis (HR: 2.33, 95% CI 1.03 to 6.19). CONCLUSIONS: Joint synovitis and TFRs are independent predictive factors for disease progression in patients with early SSc. These easily detected clinical markers may be useful for the risk stratification of patients with SSc