Familial Mediterranean fever: Health-related quality of life and associated variables in a national cohort

Objectives: This study aims to evaluate the effectivity of Familial Mediterranean Fever Quality of Life (FMF-QoL) Scale for the measurement of QoL in patients with FMF and to perform correlations between related clinical variables in Turkish patients. Patients and methods: This multicenter prospective study performed between December 2017 and November 2018 included 974 FMF patients (334 males, 640 females; median age: 35; range, 26 to 45 years). Sociodemographic characteristics and clinical features were recorded. All participants were asked to complete the FMF-QoL Scale, Short Form-36 (SF-36), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ), and Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy (FACIT) Scale. Results: The median FMF-QoL Scale score was 26. Higher FMF-QoL Scale scores were shown to be related to female sex, illiteracy or primary education, monthly low-income (US$20 years), a higher number of attacks per month (>1/month), and severe disease. FMF-QoL Scale scores were correlated negatively with subscales of SF-36, and positively with HADS-anxiety and HADS-depression scores, HAQ and FACIT. Conclusion: Female sex, smoking, lower educational status, more severe disease, fatigue, and functional impairment were associated with poor QoL. FMF-QoL Scale was noted as a valid and simple patient-reported outcome instrument and correlated with the SF-36 scale

2018 EULAR recommendations for physical activity in people with inflammatory arthritis and osteoarthritis

Regular physical activity (PA) is increasingly promoted for people with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases as well as the general population. We evaluated if the public health recommendations for PA are applicable for people with inflammatory arthritis (iA; Rheumatoid Arthritis and Spondyloarthritis) and osteoarthritis (hip/knee OA) in order to develop evidence-based recommendations for advice and guidance on PA in clinical practice. The EULAR standardised operating procedures for the development of recommendations were followed. A task force (TF) (including rheumatologists, other medical specialists and physicians, health professionals, patient-representatives, methodologists) from 16 countries met twice. In the first TF meeting, 13 research questions to support a systematic literature review (SLR) were identified and defined. In the second meeting, the SLR evidence was presented and discussed before the recommendations, research agenda and education agenda were formulated. The TF developed and agreed on four overarching principles and 10 recommendations for PA in people with iA and OA. The mean level of agreement between the TF members ranged between 9.8 and 8.8. Given the evidence for its effectiveness, feasibility and safety, PA is advocated as integral part of standard care throughout the course of these diseases. Finally, the TF agreed on related research and education agendas. Evidence and expert opinion inform these recommendations to provide guidance in the development, conduct and evaluation of PA-interventions and promotion in people with iA and OA. It is advised that these recommendations should be implemented considering individual needs and national health systems.EULA

Turkish Translation and Patient Evaluation of the ASAS/EULAR Recommendations-Patient Version for the Management of Ankylosing Spondylitis

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the Turkish translation of the patient version of the Assessment in Spondyloarthritis International Society (ASAS) and European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) recommendations for the management of ankylosing spondylitis ( AS) by the patients

Validation of the Toronto Psoriatic Arthritis Screen II (TOPAS II) questionnaire in a Turkish population

Objective To evaluate the TOPAS II questionnaire validation in a Turkish population. Methods The Turkish translation of ToPAS II was sent to us by the developer authors of the original index. Subjects were recruited from dermatology, physical medicine and rehabilitation, and rheumatology outpatient clinics. All patients' demographic parameters and ToPAS II questionnaire results were recorded. After patients completed the questionnaire they were assessed by a rheumatologist according to a standard protocol which includes a complete history, detailed physical examination, laboratory tests and CASPAR criteria. Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) assessed to obtain sensitivity and specificity of Turkish version of ToPAS II questionnaire. Results One hundred and fifty subjects were recruited in the study. The mean age of subjects was 41.07 years (SD 12.59) and the 58% of subjects were female. There were 46 subjects from psoriasis group, 43 subjects from psoriatic arthritis (PsA) group, 41 subjects from physical medicine and rehabilitation group and 20 subjects from rheumatology (non-PsA) group. The area under the ROC curve was 0.99 which means as excellent predictor and optimum cut-off threshold to discriminate patients diagnosed with PsA was 8 according to this ROC curve analysis. The overall sensitivity and specificity based on cut-off threshold of 8, were 95.8 and 98%, respectively. Conclusion The Turkish version of ToPAS II has high sensitivity and specificity. It is simple, not time consuming and useful tool to screen for PsA in both patients with and without psoriasi

Development and validation of a functional disability index for chronic low back pain

OBJECTIVE: To develop a valid and reliable functional disability scale for chronic low back pain (CLBP)