[S.AGES Study. Collection and follow-up of new sleep apnea cases in patients over 70 years of age and diagnosed in pulmonary and geriatric units]

RATIONALE

S.AGES is a prospective cohort of >70-years-old patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome having been diagnosed in a pulmonary or a geriatric medical unit.

OBJECTIVES

The main objective of S.AGES is to get a description of older patients with OSAS in France. The secondary objectives will be to prospectively describe the management and the treatment of these patients, to describe their 5-years outcome as compared to younger patients in the literature. It will also contribute to better characterize the compliance and tolerance of the treatment and the incidence of comorbidities like respiratory diseases and cardiovascular disorders.

METHODS

All consecutive ≥70-years-old patients having received a diagnosis of OSAS (after polygraphy or polysomnography) will be included in the study. All patients will be followed in a pulmonary or a geriatric department.

EXPECTED RESULTS

S.AGES should better characterize the OSAS in the elderly patients, the specific management of this disease and its related risk factors. It may also identify the 5-years mortality and morbidity rates in this population.

The prevalence of gout in an urban area of Izmir, Turkey: a population-based epidemiological study

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to determine the prevalence of gout in a general Turkish population, according to the American College of Rheumatology (Wallace) criteria proposed for gout classification.

METHODS

This study was conducted in two districts of Izmir Province in Turkey, and involved 2835 subjects of ≥ 20 years of age. In the first stage, face-to-face interviews were performed at the subjects' registered households. In the second stage, subjects who gave positive answers in the screening questionnaire were invited to the hospital for a full examination, which included a detailed medical history, medication use and blood tests.

RESULTS

A total of 2887 subjects were contacted, and complete interviews were obtained for 2835 (1551 women, 1284 men). A total of 312 subjects (227 women, 85 men) reported experiencing a short period of joint pain accompanied by swelling, redness or reduced range of movement, and 247 (79%) of these patients underwent a detailed clinical examination in the hospital. Gout was diagnosed in 11 patients (8 men, 3 women). We found minimum age- and sex-adjusted prevalence rates of gout of 0.31% (95% CI: 0.16-0.61) in subjects of ≥ 20 years of age, and 0.72% (95% CI: 0.37-1.24) in subjects of ≥ 40 years of age.

CONCLUSIONS

Our data suggest that the estimated prevalence of gout (0.31%) is lower than the previously published estimated prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis (0.36%) in the same study population (14 definite rheumatoid arthritis cases among the 2835 subjects).