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Objectives: This study aimed to determine physical activity levels and understand the factors influencing an active lifestyle among patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS). Methods: Ninety-seven patients participated in this multicentric study. Physical activity levels were assessed using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form (IPAQ-SF). The Inflammatory Arthritis Facilitators and Barriers (IFAB) questionnaire was used to evaluate perceived barriers and facilitators to physical activity. Results: Forty-six patients were physically inactive and the rest of them were moderately active. Commonly identified barriers included a lack of motivation, fatigue, and pain. Conversely, knowledge of the health and mood benefits for physical activity emerged as a key motivator. Patients with better scores on facilitators and lower scores on barriers exhibited higher physical activity levels (p<0.05). Notably, a high level of perceived facilitators of physical activity (odds ratio [OR]: 1.02; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.00 -- 1.05) and reduced pain (OR: 0.81; 95% CI: 0.69 -- 0.95) were linked to an active lifestyle. Conclusions: This study emphasizes the role of motivation and awareness of the benefits of physical activity for health and mood in driving physical activity for patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome. Tailored physical activity programs that address psychological aspects and disease-related pain, and fatigue should be designed to counter sedentary lifestyles in pSS patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The incidence of psoriasis in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is higher than in the general population. In addition, psoriasis may negatively affect the severity of rheumatological diseases in patients with autoinflammatory or autoimmune diseases. In this study, we evaluated the effect of psoriasis or a family history of psoriasis on the characteristics of RA. This is a cross-sectional study. We included 737 RA patients who met the 2010 American College of Rheumatology (ACR)/European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) RA Classification Criteria, but did not meet the CASPAR psoriatic arthritis criteria. Subsequently, we compared disease activity, the need for biologic therapy, the number of conventional synthetic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs taken, the frequency of erosive disease and extra-articular involvement, glucocorticoid doses and the Stanford Health Assessment Questionnaire scores between patients with and without a history of psoriasis, and patients with and without a family history of psoriasis. Thirteen (1.8%) patients had psoriasis, while 58 (7.9%) had a family history of psoriasis in first- or seconddegree relatives. All outcome parameters were found to be similar between the groups. We show that concomitant psoriasis has no effect on the evaluated disease characteristics of RA.

Electrolyte abnormalities are not uncommon in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Several studies have suggested that various electrolyte imbalances seem to have an impact on disease prognosis. However, no study has primarily focused on the effect of baseline electrolyte abnormalities on disease outcome. In this study, we assessed the validity of the hypothesis that baseline electrolyte imbalances may be related to unfavourable outcomes in hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Design of the study was retrospective and observational. We included 408 hospitalized individuals with COVID-19 over 18 years old. Baseline levels of sodium, potassium, calcium and chloride were assessed and the effects of abnormalities in these electrolytes on requirement for intensive care unit and mechanical ventilation, hospitalization duration and treatment outcome were evaluated. Patients were clustered based on electrolyte levels and clusters were compared according to outcome variables. Frequency of other severe disease indices was compared between the clusters. Lastly, we evaluated the independent factors related to COVID-19-associated deaths with multivariate analyses. In all, 228 (55.8%) of the patients had at least one electrolyte imbalance at baseline. Hyponatraemia was the most frequent electrolyte abnormality. Patients with hyponatraemia, hypochloraemia or hypocalcaemia had, respectively, more frequent requirement for intensive care unit and mechanical ventilation, higher mortality rate and longer hospitalization. The clusters associated with electrolyte abnormalities had unfavourable outcomes. Also, Clinical and laboratory features associated with severe disease were detected more often in those clusters. Hyponatraemia was an independent factor related to death from COVID-19 (OR 10.33; 95% CI 1.62-65.62; p 0.01). Furthermore, baseline electrolyte imbalances, primarily hyponatraemia, were related to poor prognosis in COVID-19 and baseline electrolyte assessment would be beneficial for evaluating the risk of severe COVID-19., (© 2020 The Authors.)

Objectives: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Glucocorticoids are often used in the management of RA and might also contribute to the increased risk of metabolic syndrome (metS). Identifying metabolic alterations earlier and treating them together with disease-modifying therapy may be associated with better outcomes. Here, we aimed to investigate the frequency of metS and its components in treatment-naïve RA patients., Methods: Fifty-three newly diagnosed treatment-naïve RA patients and 55 control subjects were enrolled. MetS was diagnosed using Adult Treatment Panel III report-defined criteria. We evaluated the metS-related metabolic and anthropometric alterations between the groups. RA patients were subdivided and those with and without metS were also compared with respect to disease-related parameters., Results: MetS was more common in treatment-naïve newly diagnosed RA patients compared to controls (25 of 53 (47.1%) vs 9 of 55 (16.4%), respectively (p = 0.001; OR, 4.56; 95% CI 1.86-11.16). All evaluated anthropometric and metabolic parameters were similar in both groups. However, there was a trend to lower LDL and HDL cholesterol levels in RA patients. Furthermore, among those with metS, the number of fulfilled metS criteria items were higher in RA patients, compared to controls (p < 0.001). Interestingly, more RA patients fulfilled metS criteria with a glucose measurements item compared to controls (p < 0.001)., Conclusion: MetS was more common in newly diagnosed and treatment-naïve RA patients compared to controls. MetS, along with tendency to present paradoxical and atherogenic lipid profiles in RA patients, may be among the underlying mechanisms of increased CVD.