References:
1. Eder L, Farrer C, Jerome D. Is Enthesitis a Marker of Disease Severity in Early Psoriatic Arthritis? [abstract]. Arthritis Rheumatol. 2018;70(suppl 10). Accessed November 1, 2018.2. Truong L, Ridolfi N, Wong M. Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease in Psoriatic Arthritis: Evaluation of Risk Factor Management and Use of Aspirin and Statin for Prevention in a Primary Care Setting [abstract]. Arthritis Rheumatol. 2018;70(suppl 10). Accessed November 1, 2018.3. Duarte-Garcia A, Eder L, Goel N, et al. The 66/68 Joint Count for the Measurement of MSK Disease Activity/Peripheral Joint Activity in Psa: A Grappa-Omeract Working Group Initiative [abstract]. Arthritis Rheumatol. 2018;70(suppl 10). Accessed November 1, 2018.4. Zusman EZ, Howren A, Dutz J, De Vera MA. Epidemiology of Depression and Anxiety in Patients with Psoriatic Arthritis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis [abstract]. Arthritis Rheumatol. 2018;70(suppl 10). Accessed November 1, 2018.5. Tan J, Avina-Zubieta JA, Dominique A, Tavakoli H, Simon TA. Risk of Cancer in Patients with Psoriasis/Psoriatic Arthritis: A Population-Based Study in the Province of British Columbia [abstract]. Arthritis Rheumatol. 2018;70(suppl 10). Accessed November 1, 2018.
This month’s quiz focuses on findings presented at the recent American College of Rheumatology Annual Meeting. Are you up-to-date?
Question 1. In patients with early psoriatic arthritis (PsA), which of the following are strongly linked to the severity of sonographic enthesitis?
A systematic ultrasound study of the entheses in 64 biologic-naive patients with early PsA found active sonographic enthesitis in 57.8% of the participants. The severity of enthesitis strongly correlated with the presence of nail pitting and the HAQ score.1
Question 2. The risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease events is approximately how much higher in patients with PsA than in persons without autoimmune disease?
In a retrospective study that included 99 patients with PsA and 99 controls without autoimmune disease, those with PsA had about twice the risk of developing atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease events (odds ratio, 2.18; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.19 to 3.98).2
Question 3. Which joint count is recommended by the Group for Research and Assessment of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis (GRAPPA) as the best-performing measure in PsA?
A GRAPPA working group found SJC66/TJC68 to be a valid and reliable measure of peripheral joint disease activity in PsA and recommends it over the 76/78 and 28 joint counts.3
Question 4. How much higher is the risk of incident depression in patients with PsA compared with the general population?
Researchers who conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis found a high prevalence of depression (20% [95% CI, 15% to 25%]) and anxiety (27% [95% CI, 12% to 43%]) among patients with PsA. The risk of incident depression was 30% higher than in the general population.4
Question 5. Patients with PsA are at decreased risk for which of the following malignancies?
A population-based study showed that patients with psoriatic disease are at higher risk for several types of cancer, including eye and orbit (4-fold), female genital (3-fold), non-melanoma skin (2-fold), and prostate (males, 1.1-fold). However, they are at lower risk for rectal and colon cancer than the general population.5
