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Introduction: Although low back pain (LBP) is a high-impact health condition, its burden has not been examined from the syndemic perspective., Objective: To compare and assess clinical, socioeconomic, and geographic factors associated with LBP prevalence in low-income and upper-middle-income countries using syndemic and syndemogenesis frameworks based on network and cluster analyses., Methods: Analyses were performed by adopting network and cluster design, whereby interrelations among the individual and social variables and their combinations were established. The required data was sourced from the databases pertaining to the six Latin-American countries., Results: Database searches yielded a sample of 55,724 individuals (mean age 43.38 years, SD = 17.93), 24.12% of whom were indigenous, and 60.61% were women. The diagnosed with LBP comprised 6.59% of the total population. Network analysis showed higher relationship individuals' variables such as comorbidities, unhealthy habits, low educational level, living in rural areas, and indigenous status were found to be significantly associated with LBP. Cluster analysis showed significant association between LBP prevalence and social variables (e.g. Gender inequality Index, Human Development Index, Income Inequality)., Conclusions: LBP is a highly prevalent condition in Latin-American populations with a high impact on the quality of life of young adults. It is particularly debilitating for women, indigenous individuals, and those with low educational level, and is further exacerbated by the presence of comorbidities, especially those in the mental health domain. Thus, the study findings demonstrate that syndemic and syndemogenesis have the potential to widen the health inequities stemming from LBP in vulnerable populations. Key points • Syndemic and syndemogenesis evidence health disparities in Latin-American populations, documenting the complexity of suffering from a disease such as low back pain that is associated with comorbidities, unhealthy habits, and the social and regional context where they live. • The use of network and cluster analyses are useful tools for documenting the complexity and the multifaceted impact in health in large populations as well as the differences between countries. • The variability and impact of socioeconomic indicators (e.g., Gini index) related to low back pain and comorbidities could be felt through the use of cluster analysis, which generates evidence of regional inequality in Latin America. • Populations can be studied from different models (network and cluster analysis) and grouping, presenting new interpretations beyond geographical groupings, such as syndemic and inequity in health.

Objective: Secukinumab 150 mg has demonstrated significant improvement in signs and symptoms of ankylosing spondylitis (AS), with response rates sustained for up to 5 years. Here, we report end-of-study 3-year efficacy and safety results of secukinumab 150 and 300 mg from the MEASURE 3 study., Methods: A total of 226 patients was randomized to intravenous secukinumab 10 mg/kg (baseline, weeks 2 and 4) followed by subcutaneous (s.c.) secukinumab 300/150 mg every 4 weeks or a matched placebo. At week 16, placebo patients were re-randomized to s.c. secukinumab 300/150 mg. Analysis at week 156 included patients initially randomized to secukinumab and those who switched from placebo to secukinumab at week 16 (any secukinumab 300/150 mg). Outcome measures at week 156 included Assessment of Spondyloarthritis International Society (ASAS) 20/40, Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index, ASAS partial remission (PR), ASAS 5/6, and Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Score-C-reactive protein inactive disease., Results: The retention rates from weeks 16 to 156 were 80.5% and 80.9% in secukinumab 300 and 150 mg, respectively. ASAS 20/40 response rates at week 156 were 75.0%/56.5% and 68.2%/47.7% for secukinumab 300 and 150 mg, respectively. At week 156, response rates on more stringent clinical end points (eg, ASAS 40, ASAS-PR) were higher with the 300-mg dose, particularly in tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-inadequate responder (IR) patients. No new safety findings were observed., Conclusion: Secukinumab (300 and 150 mg) provided sustained improvements through 3 years in the signs and symptoms of active AS. Improvements with secukinumab 300 mg were numerically higher compared with the 150-mg dose for some higher hurdle end points and in TNF-IR patients. The safety profile of secukinumab was consistent with previous reports., (© 2020 The Authors. ACR Open Rheumatology published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of American College of Rheumatology.)

Background: Secukinumab, an anti-interleukin-17A monoclonal antibody, improved the signs and symptoms of ankylosing spondylitis (AS) in two phase 3 studies (MEASURE 1 and MEASURE 2). Here, we present 52-week results from the MEASURE 3 study assessing the efficacy and safety of secukinumab 300 and 150 mg subcutaneous maintenance dosing, following an intravenous loading regimen., Methods: A total of 226 patients were randomized to intravenous secukinumab 10 mg/kg (baseline, weeks 2 and 4) followed by subcutaneous secukinumab 300 mg (IV-300 mg) or 150 mg (IV-150 mg) every 4 weeks, or matched placebo. Patients in the placebo group were re-randomized to subcutaneous secukinumab at a dose of 300 or 150 mg at week 16. The primary endpoint was the Assessment of SpondyloArthritis international Society criteria for 20% improvement (ASAS20) response rate at week 16 in the IV-300 mg or IV-150 mg versus placebo. Other endpoints assessed through week 52 included improvements in ASAS40, ASAS 5/6, Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index, and ASAS partial remission responses, as well as the change from baseline in high-sensitivity C-reactive protein levels. Statistical analyses followed a predefined hierarchical hypothesis testing strategy to adjust for multiplicity of testing, with non-responder imputation used for binary variables and mixed-model repeated measures for continuous variables., Results: The primary efficacy endpoint was met; the ASAS20 response rate was significantly greater at week 16 in the IV-300 mg (60.5%; P < 0.01) and IV-150 mg (58.1%; P < 0.05) groups versus placebo (36.8%). All secondary endpoints were met at week 16, except ASAS partial remission in the IV-150 mg group. Improvements achieved with secukinumab in all clinical endpoints at week 16 were also sustained at week 52. Infections, including candidiasis, were more common with secukinumab than with placebo during the placebo-controlled period. During the entire treatment period, pooled incidence rates of Candida infections and grade 3-4 neutropenia were 1.8% for both of these adverse events in secukinumab-treated patients., Conclusions: Secukinumab (300 mg and 150 mg dose groups) provided rapid, significant and sustained improvement through 52 weeks in the signs and symptoms of patients with AS. The safety profile was consistent with previous reports, with no new or unexpected findings., Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02008916 . Registered on 8 December 2013. EUDRACT 2013-001090-24. Registered on 24 October 2013). The study was not retrospectively registered.

Multilevel studies have gained importance for highlighting social inequalities in health. These associations have been reported previously in diseases such as arthritis and chronic pain. We conducted a cross-sectional study using multilevel analysis to identify individual and contextual factors associated with the variation of prevalence of osteoarthritis (OA) in the Mexican population. The sample included 17,566 individuals of which 10,666 (60.7%) were women. The relationship between individual and contextual factors and OA were analyzed with a multilevel strategy. From the total population, 1,681 individuals had OA. Multilevel analysis showed that individual variables such as female gender (odds ratio (OR) = 1.3, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.1, 1.4), age range 55-65 years (OR = 1.6, 95% CI 1.3, 2.0), musculoskeletal pain in the last 7 days (OR = 2.6, 95% CI 2.3, 3.0), and use of pain treatments (OR = 1.4, 95% CI 1.2, 1.7) were associated with OA. At the regional level, the Social Gap Index (SGIx) was associated with the diagnosis of OA (coefficient 0.5, 95% CI 0.2-1.1). The SGIx contextual variable was positively associated with the regional prevalence of OA and the variation in prevalence of OA in different regions. The larger the social gap, the greater the variation in OA prevalence. These factors were independently associated with the prevalence of OA: female gender, pain intensity, physical limitation, and the use of pain treatments were individual variables associated with OA. The association between OA prevalence and regional variations with SGIx reflects inequities in health provisions that should be considered in health programs.

Background: The overall estimated prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in Mexico is 1.6%, but there are major variations in different geographic areas of the country., Objective: This study aimed to determine the impact of individual and regional variables on the geographic distribution of RA in Mexico., Methods: This multilevel analysis used data from a cross-sectional study that investigated the prevalence of RA among 19,213 individuals older than 18 years throughout 5 geographic regions in Mexico. Logistic regression models were used to determine predictors of RA, including individual and regional variables as well as cultural factors. Adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were determined., Results: The prevalence of RA varied from 0.77% to 2.8% across the 5 regions. Individual factors associated with RA were sex (OR, 2.32; 95% CI, 1.74-3.07), previous medical diagnosis of RA ( OR 3.3, 95%CI: 2919–5.1 [corrected]), disability (OR, 2.07; 95% CI, 1.48-2.93), and the 56- to 65-year age group (OR, 1.95; 95% CI, 1.08-3.74). The regional factor of speaking an indigenous language had an OR of 2.27 (95% CI, 1.13-4.55)., Conclusions: Various individual and regional factors were associated with variations in the prevalence of RA in the Mexican population.

Salmonella continues to cause a considerable number of foodborne illnesses worldwide. The sources of outbreaks include contaminated meat and produce. The purpose of this study was to establish an initial investigation of the burden of Salmonella in produce and beef from Honduras by sampling retail markets and abattoirs. Retail produce samples (cantaloupes, cilantro, cucumbers, leafy greens, peppers, and tomatoes; n = 573) were purchased in three major cities of Honduras, and retail whole-muscle beef (n = 555) samples were also purchased in four major cities. Additionally, both hide and beef carcass (n = 141) samples were collected from two Honduran abattoirs. Whole-muscle beef samples were obtained using a sponge hydrated with buffered peptone water, and 10 ml of the buffered peptone water rinsate of each produce sample was collected with a dry sponge and placed in a bag to be transported back to the United States. Salmonella was detected using a commercially available, closeplatform PCR system, and positive samples were subjected to culture on selective media to obtain isolates. Overall, the prevalence of Salmonella-positive samples, based on PCR detection in Honduras (n = 555) retail beef was 10.1% (95% confidence interval = 7.8, 12.9), whereas 7.8% (n = 141) of beef carcass and hides samples were positive in both beef plants. The overall Salmonella prevalence for all produce samples (n = 573) collected was 2.1% (95% confidence interval = 1.2, 3.6). The most common serotypes identified in Honduras were Salmonella Typhimurium followed by Derby. These results provide an indication of Salmonella contamination of beef and produce in Honduras. Developing a Salmonella baseline for Latin America through an initial investigation like the one presented here contributes to a broader global understanding of the potential exposure through food, thus providing insight into the needs for control strategies.