Association between grip and core muscle strength in people with axSpA and healthy controls

Oral presentationBackground: Regular fitness assessments are part of the group exercise therapy concept for people with axSpA living in Switzerland. Participants ask if their performance is comparable with healthy people, which we cannot answer as no norm data are available. Among others, a test battery measuring the isometric strength endurance of the ventral, lateral, and dorsal core muscle chains (in seconds) is used (Rausch 2020). The core strength endurance test battery (CST) is time-consuming. In contrast, hand grip strength (in kg, Jamar dynamometer) can be tested within a short time and is already used as a substitute for multiple fitness-related tests (Kim 2022). Objectives: 1) to compare core strength endurance of people with axSpA and healthy controls, and 2) to evaluate if grip strength can be used as a proxy for core strength to reduce the assessment time in people with axSpA. Methods: Data was collected between April 2021 and December 2022. Data of people with axSpA were taken from the SVMB database of routinely gathered assessment data, and grip strength measurement was added. Further, data of CST and grip strength were collected in healthy controls, recruited from ZHAW staff and local sport clubs. All participants gave written informed consent. To investigate differences between both groups, relevant demographics, core and grip strength measures were compared using Welch Two-sample t-tests and Pearson’s Chi[2] test, if appropriate. The associations between grip and core strength were explored through pairwise Spearman rank correlations (RS) in both groups and sex-specific subgroups. In addition, we fitted linear regression models to the log-transformed data of people with axSpA. Results: Data from 160 healthy people (50% male, mean age 59.3 (SD 11.47) years) and 122 people with axSpA (58% male, mean age 57.7 (SD 12.1) years) were included. In people with axSpA, mean years since symptoms were 37.3 (SD 24.9), and since diagnosis 29.4 (SD 27.1)). The median BASDAI score was 2.5 (IQR 1.7 – 4.2), and the median ADAS Health index was 3 (IQR 0 – 7). Demographic characteristics (i.e., age, sex, weight, height, BMI, and smoking status) did not differ between groups. However, people with axSpA showed less core strength endurance, measured in seconds: ventral mean difference -28, p < 0.001; lateral mean difference -17.1, p < 0.001; dorsal mean difference -38.5, p < 0.001

Quality of reporting of harms in clinical trials on exercise therapy in patients with rheumatoid arthritis or axial spondyloarthritis : a systematic review

Background: Exercise therapy has proven effective for people with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases (RMDs), including those with inflammatory arthritis such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA) or axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) [1-2]. Exercise therapy is generally considered safe for people with RMDs, although the evidence is scarce. A few reviews reported on the nature and risk of harms of exercise therapy in RMDs, but none of them specifically addressed the quality of reporting of harms of exercise therapy in studies including people with inflammatory arthritis. Objectives: This study aimed to describe the quality of reporting of harms in clinical studies on the effectiveness of exercise therapy in people with RA or axSpA. Methods: RCTs with at least one treatment arm consisting of supervised exercise therapy in people with RA or axSpA were included. Eight electronic databases were searched up to November 2021. Two researchers independently selected studies for inclusion and extracted data and in case of disagreement a third researcher was consulted. Data extraction included study characteristics and fulfillment of a set of quality aspects derived from the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) Extension for Reporting Harms Outcomes [3], predefined on the basis of consensus among authors (Table 1). Harms outcomes were defined as adverse events reported on individual level irrespective of causality or negative effects on group level (only if explicitly designated as measurement of potential harm). We considered the reporting on harms outcomes of sufficient quality if the authors reported at least 1) the methodology for active surveillance of harms outcomes (item 2a); and 2) the observed number and the nature of harms (items 3b and 3c). Results: The search yielded 5921 records, of which 64 studies (n= 41 RA, n=23 axSpA; described in 83 papers) were included. Of those studies in RA and axSpA, 34 (83%) and 15 (65%) included any information on harms, with 12 (29%) and 3 (13%) reporting active surveillance and 22 (54%) and 5 (22%) reporting on harms outcomes in the results section, respectively (see Table 1). In total, 10 of the 41 (24%) RA studies and 2 of the 23 (9%) axSpA studies fulfilled the predefined criteria for sufficient quality of reporting. Conclusion: The quality of reporting on harms outcomes is insufficient in the majority of RCTs on exercise therapy in people with RA or axSpA, with overall poorer quality in studies on axSpA which impedes substantiated conclusions about harms of exercise therapy. Our findings stress the need for consensus on the definition, classification, assessment and reporting of harms outcomes in trials on the effects of exercise therapy

Tropospheric Halogen Chemistry:Sources, Cycling, and Impacts

In the past 40 years, atmospheric chemists have come to realize that halogens exert a powerful influence on the chemical composition of the troposphere and through that influence affect the fate of pollutants and may affect climate. Of particular note for climate is that halogen cycles affect methane, ozone, and particles, all of which are powerful climate forcing agents through direct and indirect radiative effects. This influencecomes from the high reactivity of atomic halogen radicals (e.g.,Cl, Br, I) and halogen oxides (e.g., ClO, BrO, IO, and higher oxides), known as reactive halogen species in this review. These reactive halogens are potent oxidizers for organic and inorganic compounds throughout the troposphere