Loneliness among women with rheumatoid arthritis:A cross-cultural study in the Netherlands and Egypt

The objective of this study was to explain loneliness as experienced by women with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in a cross-cultural context. We studied 36 Egyptian female RA patients and 140 female Dutch RA patients.. Self-report data were collected about loneliness, physical and psychological health status, social support and social network, needs for help, attitudes and feelings of guilt. Loneliness was significantly higher among Egyptian (44.2 ± 32.3) than Dutch (12.9 ± 18.9) female RA patients (F = 54.3, p < 0.001). In Egypt, 36% of the variance of loneliness could be explained by worse affect (anxiety and depression; β = 0.51), fewer children (β = 0.31), and higher negative social support for the patients (β = 0.28) in multiple regression analysis. In the Netherlands, 35% of feeling lonely could be explained by worse affect scores (β = 0.52), less positive social support for the patients (β = 0.24), and a higher degree of disability (β = 0.21). Age of the patients and disease duration only explained 4% and 3% of the loneliness of RA patients in Egypt and the Netherlands, respectively. Female Egyptian RA patients experienced more loneliness than Dutch patients. Affect is the most important and constant variable in explaining loneliness in both countries. The role of the family in perceived loneliness is greater in Egypt than the Netherlands. Low social support received by patients is important in explaining loneliness in the Netherlands but not in Egypt

The Variations in the Altitudes Between the Sea Level and Ajloun Impact Heart Variables, but not Angiotensin Ii

Background: hypertension affects many people worldwide and it is highly prevalent in Jordan. Living at different areas with different attitudes may have impacts in hypertension. Study objectives: to identify the prevalence of hypertension in two areas in Jordan with different attitudes and to determine the impact of attitudes in hypertension and angiotensin II to be able to determine the appropriate antihypertensive drug for such population. Methodology: a cross-sectional study design was conducted to collect data from participants. The study included 1000 participants, 500 from each area. A constructed questionnaire was used in this study. Blood samples were taken from participants to assay for angiotensin II. Blood pressure was measured for all patients. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 20. Data was presented as means, frequencies, percentages. The relationship between variables was examined using independent T-test. Significance was considered at alpha level 0.05). Conclusions: living in high altitude is associated with increased potential to have increased levels of cardiac parameters independently of the level of angiotensin II and the therapeutic options for patients with hypertension should be taken into account

SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility and COVID-19 disease severity are associated with genetic variants affecting gene expression in a variety of tissues

Variability in SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility and COVID-19 disease severity between individuals is partly due to genetic factors. Here, we identify 4 genomic loci with suggestive associations for SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility and 19 for COVID-19 disease severity. Four of these 23 loci likely have an ethnicity-specific component. Genome-wide association study (GWAS) signals in 11 loci colocalize with expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) associated with the expression of 20 genes in 62 tissues/cell types (range: 1:43 tissues/gene), including lung, brain, heart, muscle, and skin as well as the digestive system and immune system. We perform genetic fine mapping to compute 99% credible SNP sets, which identify 10 GWAS loci that have eight or fewer SNPs in the credible set, including three loci with one single likely causal SNP. Our study suggests that the diverse symptoms and disease severity of COVID-19 observed between individuals is associated with variants across the genome, affecting gene expression levels in a wide variety of tissue types

A first update on mapping the human genetic architecture of COVID-19

peer reviewe

The prevalence of osteoarthritis in rural Egypt: a WHO-ILAR COPCORD study

Objective: Osteoarthritis (OA) is the commonest form of arthritis affecting every population and ethnic group. The prevalence of OA and its types however varies in different studies according to the population studied, the denominator age of the population and the criteria used to define OA, whether clinical or radiological or both. This study was carried out to investigate the prevalence of OA and its types in a rural area of Egypt as part of a large study examining the prevalence of rheumatic diseases in Egypt. Methods: The study was conducted in Makosa village of Al-Minia governorate in Southern Egypt in 4 phases. Of the whole adult population (15 years and above) comprising 5208 individuals, 88 (1.7%) declined to participate in the study and 5120 subjects (98.7%, 2562 female and 2558 male) were screened by a preliminary WHO-ILAR-COPCORD questionnaire inquiring about joint and bone pain, swelling, stiffness or tenderness in the last 7 days. Those who answered positively were administered a more detailed questionnaire and invited for examination and laboratory and radiological investigations as required. A rheumatologist administered the 2 questionnaires face-to-face and carried out examinations to ensure reliability and validity of data collection. Consequently, OA cases were diagnosed according to validated criteria (1986 clinical ACR criteria for OA of the knee, 1986 ACR criteria for OA of the hand and 1991 ACR criteria for OA of the hip). Results: OA was the commonest rheumatic disease in the population, with OA cases constituting more than half of patients with rheumatic diseases, whether female (53.2%), male (50.8%) or total (52.4%). Osteoarthritis was diagnosed in 434 individuals, with a prevalence of 8.5% in the total adult population (95% CI: 7.7–9.1%). The prevalence of OA was significantly higher in females (10.9%) than males (6.1%) (p < 0.001). Local OA was the commonest type of OA diagnosed (6.3%), while the prevalence of primary generalized OA (nodal and non-nodal) was 1.5%, and secondary OA was found in 0.6% of the population. Regardless of type, the knee was afflicted in the majority of cases, with knee OA diagnosed in 8.1% of the population, while the prevalence of hand OA was 1.5%. Hip OA was rare, being diagnosed in only 3 cases (0.06%). Conclusion: OA is the commonest rheumatic disease in Egypt, with a prevalence of 8.5%. The disease is more common in females than males and predominantly affects the knees, while hip OA is extremely rare

COVID-19 Host Genetics Initiative. A first update on mapping the human genetic architecture of COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to pose a major public health threat, especially in countries with low vaccination rates. To better understand the biological underpinnings of SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 severity, we formed the COVID-19 Host Genetics Initiative1. Here we present a genome-wide association study meta-analysis of up to 125,584 cases and over 2.5 million control individuals across 60 studies from 25 countries, adding 11 genome-wide significant loci compared with those previously identified2. Genes at new loci, including SFTPD, MUC5B and ACE2, reveal compelling insights regarding disease susceptibility and severity.</p