Protocol for the development of a core domain set for individuals with ankle osteoarthritis

Background: Ankle osteoarthritis (OA) is a debilitating health condition that is increasing in prevalence. Currently, there are no evidence-based guidelines for managing ankle OA. One of the current challenges to establishing guidelines is the lack of a widely agreed-upon set of outcome measures that are consistently used in ankle OA research. Without a set of agreed-upon outcome measures, it is difficult to synthesise clinical trial outcomes through meta-analysis—an essential element of evidence-informed practice. In order to develop an appropriate set of outcome measures for ankle OA, it is important first to develop a core domain set. In this protocol, we describe the methodological approach that we will use to develop such a core domain set for ankle OA. Methods: We established an international steering committee to guide the development of a core domain set for ankle OA. The core domain set development will follow a multi-staged approach consisting of three phases, involving participation by patients and clinicians/healthcare professionals. In phase 1, a list of candidate domains will be gleaned from (a) a scoping review of outcome measures used in ankle OA research, (b) qualitative interviews with individuals with ankle OA, and (c) qualitative interviews with healthcare professionals with expertise in ankle OA. In phase 2, the steering committee will review and generate a list of candidate domains from those gleaned in phase 1. In phase 3, this list of candidate domains will be considered in a Delphi process to reach a consensus on a core domain set. We anticipated this will involve 3 rounds of surveys. Conclusion: This protocol describes the methods that will be used to develop a core domain set of health-related aspects for ankle OA. Importantly, it will include both healthcare professional and patient involvement. This is a prerequisite step to developing a core outcome set for ankle OA that should be reported in all clinical trials for ankle OA. The findings will be widely disseminated across peer-refereed publication(s) and national and international conferences, as well as via relevant professional societies, patient support group organisations, and social media platforms. </p

Patient knowledge and beliefs about knee osteoarthritis after anterior cruciate Injury and reconstruction

© 2016, American College of RheumatologyObjective: To explore patients’ knowledge and beliefs about osteoarthritis (OA) and OA risk following anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury, to explore the extent to which information about these risks is provided by health professionals, and to examine associations among participant characteristics, knowledge, and risk beliefs and health professional advice. Methods: A custom-designed survey was conducted in Australian and American adults who sustained an ACL injury, with or without reconstruction, 1–5 years prior. The survey comprised 3 sections: participant characteristics, knowledge about OA and OA risk, and health professional advice. Results: Complete data sets from 233 eligible respondents were analyzed. Most (70%, n = 164) rated themselves as being at greater risk of OA than their healthy peers, although only 56% (n = 130) were able to identify the correct OA definition. While most agreed that ACL (73%, n = 168) and/or meniscal injuries (n = 181, 78%) increase the risk of OA, 65% (n = 152) believed that ACL reconstruction reduced the risk of OA, or they did not know. A total of 27% (n = 62) recalled discussing their OA risk with a health professional. Participants who were female, younger, or had a lower body mass index or higher physical activity level were more likely to recognize meniscal tears and meniscectomy as risk factors of OA. A history of professional advice was associated with beliefs about increased OA risks. Conclusion: Patients sustaining an ACL injury require better education from health professionals about OA as a disease entity and their elevated risk of OA, irrespective of whether or not they undergo surgical reconstruction

Effect of Acute Walking on Endothelial Function and Postprandial Lipemia in South Asians and White Europeans

Introduction South Asians (SAs) have an elevated risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) compared with White Europeans (WEs). Postprandial endothelial function (flow-mediated dilatation (FMD%)) in SA women and SA men with central obesity has not been investigated. Research in other populations has highlighted that a 1% higher FMD% is associated with a 13% lower risk of future CVD events. We investigated whether FMD% and lipemia, two markers for CVD risk, were higher in SAs versus WEs, whether walking improved FMD% and lipemia, and if there were ethnic differences in the response. Methods Lean premenopausal women (study 1; 12 SA, 12 WE) and men with central obesity (study 2; 15 SA, 15 WE) completed two 2-d trials. On day 1, participants walked for 60 min at 60% of their peak oxygen uptake or rested. On day 2, participants rested and consumed two high-fat meals over 8 h. Repeated ultrasound assessments of endothelial function and venous blood samples for CVD risk markers were taken. Results Compared with WEs, SAs had lower postprandial FMD% (study 1, -1.32%; study 2, -0.54%) and higher postprandial triacylglycerol concentrations (study 1, 0.31 mmol·L-1·h-1; study 2, 0.55 mmol·L-1·h-1). Walking improved postprandial FMD% (study 1, 1.12%; study 2, 0.94%) and resulted in no significant change or small reductions in postprandial triacylglycerol concentrations (study 1, -0.01 mmol·L-1·h-1; study 2, -0.25 mmol·L-1·h-1). Exercise-induced changes in FMD% and triacylglycerol were consistent between ethnic groups. Conclusions Walking mitigated the adverse postprandial effect of a high-fat diet on FMD% to a similar extent in SA and WE women and men, even with no/small improvements in triacylglycerol. This study highlights the importance of exercise to clinically improve FMD% in SAs and WEs

Genetic diversity fuels gene discovery for tobacco and alcohol use

Tobacco and alcohol use are heritable behaviours associated with 15% and 5.3% of worldwide deaths, respectively, due largely to broad increased risk for disease and injury1–4. These substances are used across the globe, yet genome-wide association studies have focused largely on individuals of European ancestries5. Here we leveraged global genetic diversity across 3.4 million individuals from four major clines of global ancestry (approximately 21% non-European) to power the discovery and fine-mapping of genomic loci associated with tobacco and alcohol use, to inform function of these loci via ancestry-aware transcriptome-wide association studies, and to evaluate the genetic architecture and predictive power of polygenic risk within and across populations. We found that increases in sample size and genetic diversity improved locus identification and fine-mapping resolution, and that a large majority of the 3,823 associated variants (from 2,143 loci) showed consistent effect sizes across ancestry dimensions. However, polygenic risk scores developed in one ancestry performed poorly in others, highlighting the continued need to increase sample sizes of diverse ancestries to realize any potential benefit of polygenic prediction