Clinical evaluation of foot disability in patients with axial spondyloarthritis

Objective: To evaluate foot disability both ultrasonographically and by using the Foot Function Index (FFI) in patients with axial spondyloarthritis (SpA) and to investigate its effects on patients' quality of life and functional capacity by determining the factors that may affect the level of disability.Patients and methods. A total of 100 patients were included in the study. Enthesis sites in the feet were assessed for tenderness and swelling. Ultrasonographic examination of the Achilles tendon and plantar fascia was made and the findings were scored according to Glasgow Ultrasound Enthesitis Scoring System (GUESS). The Foot Function Index (FFI) was used to investigate the effects of foot disorders on disability and activity limitation. The correlation between GUESS and FFI scores, and relationship of GUESS and FFI scores with age, disease duration, body mass index (BMI), smoking and disease activity parameters were investigated.Results and discussion. Physical examination revealed signs of enthesitis in 13 (13%) patients, while ultrasonographic (USG) evaluation – in 36 (36%) patients. A statistically significant correlation was found between all FFI and GUESS scores except between FFI for the right foot and GUESS for right Achilles tendon enthesitis. A positive correlation was found between age and BMI and FFI (p<0.05). There was no correlation between disease duration and smoking and FFI scores. While there was a statistically significant correlation between all scores of GUESS and age, disease duration, and BMI, no correlation was found between smoking and GUESS scores. No significant difference was found in either FFI or GUESS scores between patients with or without / diabetes and patients who were smokers or non-smokers. All FFI and GUESS scores significantly correlated with BASDAI, ASDAS, BASFI, and ASQoL (p<0.05).Conclusion. Enthesitis may lead to decreased functional capacity and loss of quality of life in ax-SpA patients. Subclinical enthesitis in the feet of patients with SpA is not rare and may be detected by USG.Objective: To evaluate foot disability both ultrasonographically and by using the Foot Function Index (FFI) in patients with axial spondyloarthritis (SpA) and to investigate its effects on patients' quality of life and functional capacity by determining the factors that may affect the level of disability.Patients and methods. A total of 100 patients were included in the study. Enthesis sites in the feet were assessed for tenderness and swelling. Ultrasonographic examination of the Achilles tendon and plantar fascia was made and the findings were scored according to Glasgow Ultrasound Enthesitis Scoring System (GUESS). The Foot Function Index (FFI) was used to investigate the effects of foot disorders on disability and activity limitation. The correlation between GUESS and FFI scores, and relationship of GUESS and FFI scores with age, disease duration, body mass index (BMI), smoking and disease activity parameters were investigated.Results and discussion. Physical examination revealed signs of enthesitis in 13 (13%) patients, while ultrasonographic (USG) evaluation – in 36 (36%) patients. A statistically significant correlation was found between all FFI and GUESS scores except between FFI for the right foot and GUESS for right Achilles tendon enthesitis. A positive correlation was found between age and BMI and FFI (p<0.05). There was no correlation between disease duration and smoking and FFI scores. While there was a statistically significant correlation between all scores of GUESS and age, disease duration, and BMI, no correlation was found between smoking and GUESS scores. No significant difference was found in either FFI or GUESS scores between patients with or without / diabetes and patients who were smokers or non-smokers. All FFI and GUESS scores significantly correlated with BASDAI, ASDAS, BASFI, and ASQoL (p<0.05).Conclusion. Enthesitis may lead to decreased functional capacity and loss of quality of life in ax-SpA patients. Subclinical enthesitis in the feet of patients with SpA is not rare and may be detected by USG

Clinical evaluation of foot disability in patients with axial spondyloarthritis

Objective: To evaluate foot disability both ultrasonographically and by using the Foot Function Index (FFI) in patients with axial spondyloarthritis (SpA) and to investigate its effects on patients' quality of life and functional capacity by determining the factors that may affect the level of disability.Patients and methods. A total of 100 patients were included in the study. Enthesis sites in the feet were assessed for tenderness and swelling. Ultrasonographic examination of the Achilles tendon and plantar fascia was made and the findings were scored according to Glasgow Ultrasound Enthesitis Scoring System (GUESS). The Foot Function Index (FFI) was used to investigate the effects of foot disorders on disability and activity limitation. The correlation between GUESS and FFI scores, and relationship of GUESS and FFI scores with age, disease duration, body mass index (BMI), smoking and disease activity parameters were investigated.Results and discussion. Physical examination revealed signs of enthesitis in 13 (13%) patients, while ultrasonographic (USG) evaluation – in 36 (36%) patients. A statistically significant correlation was found between all FFI and GUESS scores except between FFI for the right foot and GUESS for right Achilles tendon enthesitis. A positive correlation was found between age and BMI and FFI (p<0.05). There was no correlation between disease duration and smoking and FFI scores. While there was a statistically significant correlation between all scores of GUESS and age, disease duration, and BMI, no correlation was found between smoking and GUESS scores. No significant difference was found in either FFI or GUESS scores between patients with or without / diabetes and patients who were smokers or non-smokers. All FFI and GUESS scores significantly correlated with BASDAI, ASDAS, BASFI, and ASQoL (p<0.05).Conclusion. Enthesitis may lead to decreased functional capacity and loss of quality of life in ax-SpA patients. Subclinical enthesitis in the feet of patients with SpA is not rare and may be detected by USG

“’Lost and at Risk: The Modern Heritage of the Capital Ankara, 1927-1939’ Sergisi Kaunas-Litvanya’da: Kent ve Sergi İzlenimleri”

"Kayıp ve Risk Altında: Başkent Ankara’nın Modern Mirası, 1927-1939" sergisi, Mimarlar Derneği 1927’nin 90. yılı kutlama etkinlikleri kapsamında hazırlandı ve ilk kez 2017 yılında, "Savaşlararası Dönemde Kaunas Mimarlığı, Litvanya" sergisi ile birlikte Ankara’da sergilendi. Bu sunuşta, Ankara sergisinin Ekim 2018’de Kaunas’ta açılmasının ardından, iki kentin modern mimarlık miraslarını birlikte değerlendirerek kent ve etkinlik izlenimlerimizi paylaşmayı hedefliyoruz

Multiple Comparison of Age Groups in Bone Mineral Density under Heteroscedasticity

Osteoporosis is a silent disease because individuals may not know that they have osteoporosis until their bones become so fragile. Bone mineral density (BMD) test helps to detect osteoporosis and determine the risk fractures. This study covers bone measurement data from total body dual energy X-ray absorptiometry scans for 28,454 persons who participated in the 1996–2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey in USA Dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) method is known as the primary method for detecting osteoporosis because of its high precision and accuracy. Testing the equality of the means of normal populations when the variances are unknown and unequal is a fundamental problem in clinical trials and biomedical research. In this study we compare age groups based upon BMD in case of unequal variance being present among the groups. First we test equality of variances among the age groups by the Hartley test. And then Scott-Smith test is used to test equality of BMD means for the age groups. Finally, Tukey-Cramer confidence intervals are constructed to detect which groups start to differ from the reference group in which BMD reaches the peak level

Can bath ankylosing spondylitis disease activity index be affected by accompanying fibromyalgia or depression?

Objectives: This study aims to investigate whether Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI) is affected from pathologies such as fibromyalgia (FM) and depression which may coexist in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS).Patients and methods: A total of 170 patients (57 males, 123 females; mean age 42.9 +/- 13.0 years) aged between 18 and 75 years with FM (n=52), depression (n=60) and AS (n=58) were included in the study. All patients were asked to complete BASDAI and Beck Depression Inventory. Percentages of patients with BASDAI scores of >4 (cut-off value for disease activity) and >5 (cut-off value for reimbursement of biological agents) were calculated and compared between the groups. Individual BASDAI item scores, total BASDAI, and Beck Depression Inventory scores were compared between the groups.Results: When individual BASDAI items scores were analyzed separately, scores of all items were statistically significantly higher in FM group compared to AS group. While question 1 (fatigue) and 3 (peripheral joint pain and swelling) scores were statistically significantly higher in the depression group compared to AS group, question 5 and 6 scores (items associated with morning stiffness) were significantly lower in the depression group compared to AS group. Percentage of patients with BASDAI scores of >4 and >5 in the FM group was significantly higher compared to the other two groups. Significant correlation was noted between BASDAI and Beck Depression Inventory scores in AS and FM groups.Conclusion: Our findings suggest that while assessing disease activity in patients with AS particularly by a patient-reported outcome measure such as BASDAI, other conditions such as FM and depression which may affect the scores should be taken into consideration

The reliability and validity of the Turkish version of the Fibromyalgia Participation Questionnaire

WOS: 000428850700009PubMed: 29657874Objective: The objective of this study was to test the reliability and validity of the Turkish version of the Fibromyalgia Participation Questionnaire (FPQ). Methods: One hundred and eighty-four female patients with fibromyalgia syndrome were included in the study. All patients filled out the Turkish FPQ (FPQ-T) questionnaire, which was obtained by translation from German according to the guideline for the process of cross-cultural adaptation The patients filled out the revised Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ) and reevaluated the FPQ-T two hours later. Internal consistency reliability of the FPQ-T was assessed by calculating the "if item deleted" using Cronbach's alpha and the "item-total correction" coefficient for each item of the questionnaire. The consistency of the subscales and the correlation of the test-retest values were assessed. The test-retest values were compared using the Wilcoxon test. Criterion validity was measured using FIQ scales by Spearman's rank correlation coefficient. Results: For internal reliability, Cronbach's alpha coefficient was calculated as 0.957 for nonworking patients and 0.958 for working patients. Cronbach's alpha values of 0.939, 0.871, and 0.914 were obtained for daily, social, and work life, respectively. Correlation coefficients were 0.888 for daily life, 0.859 for social life, and 0.901 overall in the nonworking group versus 0.896 the in working group. The comparison of scores obtained from test-retest measurements showed no significant difference except for Item 3. The correlation of the symptom severity score (SSS) and the FPQ-T was r=0.385 (p<0.001) and r=0.390 (p<0.001) for the nonworking and working subgroups, respectively. The evaluation of construct validity showed a significant correlation between the SSS and FPQ-T. Conclusion: The results of our study showed that the FPQ-T is reliable and valid for assessing participation and social functioning in fibromyalgia patients in Turkish society

The clinical, functional, and radiological features of hand osteoarthritis: TLAR-osteoarthritis multi-center cohort study

WOS:000815860200001Objectives: This study aims to evaluate the clinical, functional, and radiological features of hand osteoarthritis (OA) and to examine their relationships in different geographic samples of the Turkish population. Patients and methods: Between April 2017 and January 2019, a total of 520 patients (49 males, 471 females; mean age: 63.6 +/- 9.8 years) with hand OA were included in the study from 26 centers across Turkey by the Turkish League Against Rheumatism (TLAR). The demographic characteristics, grip strengths with Jamar dynamometer, duration of hand pain (month), the severity of hand pain (Visual Analog Scale [VAS]), and morning stiffness were evaluated. The functional disability was evaluated with Duruoz Hand Index (DHI). The Kellgren-Lawrence (KL) OA scoring system was used to assess the radiological stage of hand OA. Results: The DHI had significant correlations with VAS-pain (r=0.367, p0.05). The differences between the groups of radiological hand OA grades in terms of age (p=0.007), VAS-pain (p0.05 for all). Conclusion: In our population, the patients with hand OA had pain, functional disability, and weak grip strength. The functional impairment was significantly correlated with the severity of the pain, and the functional status was worse in high radiological hand OA grades