POS0218 TUMOR-NECROSIS FACTOR INHIBITORS IMPROVE AORTIC STIFFNESS IN PATIENTS WITH LONGSTANDING RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS

Background:

Major cardiovascular disease (CVD) benefits of disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) therapy occur in early RA patients with treat-to-target strategy. However, it is unknown whether long-term DMARDs treatment in established RA could be useful to improve CVD risk profile.

Objectives:

The aim of this study was to comparatively describe aortic stiffness progression in patients with longstanding and established RA treated with tumor necrosis factor inhibitors (TNFi) or conventional synthetic DMARDs (csDMARDs).

Methods:

Ultrasound aortic stiffness index (AoSI) has to be considered a proxy outcome measure in established RA patients. We measured AoSI in a group of RA patients on long-term treatment with TNFi or csDMARDs. Eligible participants were assessed at baseline and after 12 months; changes in serum lipids, glucose and arterial blood pressure were assessed. All patients were on stable medications during the entire follow-up.

Results:

We included 107 (64 TNFi and 43 csDMARDs) RA patients. Most patients (74%) were in remission or low disease activity and had some CVD risk factors (45.8% hypertension, 59.8% dyslipidemia, 45.3% smoking; table 1). The two groups did not differ significantly for baseline AoSI (5.95±3.73% vs 6.08±4.20%, p=0.867). Follow-up AoSI was significantly increased from baseline in the csDMARDs group (+1.00%; p<0.0001) but not in the TNFi group (+0.15%, p=0.477). Patients on TNFi had significantly lower follow-up AoSI from baseline than the csDMARDs group (-1.02%, p<0.001; ANCOVA corrected for baseline AoSI, age and systolic blood pressure). Furthermore, follow-up AoSI was significantly lower in TNFi users with 1-2 or >2 CVD risk factors than in those without (figure 1).

Conclusion:

Long-term treatment with TNFi was associated with reduced aortic stiffness in patients with established RA and several CVD risk factors.

Baseline characteristics of the study population.csDMARDs(n=43)TNFi(n=64)P valueAge, median years (IQR)58.6 (53.0, 66.0)58.1 (49.3, 67.0)0.839Female sex33 (76.7)54 (84.4)0.321Obesity5 (11.6)7 (10.9)0.999Hypertension19 (44.2)30 (46.9)0.784Anti-hypertensive drug17 (39.5)28 (43.8)0.784Smoking status, ever18 (42.9)30 (46.9)0.684Dyslipidemia30 (40.2)34 (59.8)0.085Current statin use13 (34.2)10 (15.9)0.033Diabetes mellitus3 (7.0)3 (4.7)0.676Anti-diabetic medication1 (2.3)1 (1.5)0.999CVD risk factors, median (IQR)2 (1, 3)2 (1, 3)0.199RF and/or ACPA positive28 (65.1)33 (51.6)0.165Disease duration, median years (IQR)14.1 (11.5)15.4 (10.5)0.538Methotrexate38 (88.4)52 (81.3)0.192Leflunomide5 (17.9)12 (19.0)0.999Hydroxychloroquine9 (31.0)5 (7.8)0.009Prednisone > 5 mg daily7 (7.7)5 (5.5)0.823NSAIDs6 (20.7)22 (34.4)0.227

ACPA, anti-citrullinated peptides antibodies; csDMARDs, conventional synthetic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs; IQR, interquartile range; NSAIDs, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs; RF, rheumatoid factor; TNFi, tumor necrosis factor inhibitors. All data reported as absolute numbers (percentage) otherwise specified. P-value refers to Chi-squared or Fisher test for categorical variables or ANOVA for continuous variables.

Disclosure of Interests:

None declared

Environmental Air Pollution Is a Predictor of Poor Response to Biological Drugs in Chronic Inflammatory Arthritides

Background

There is increasing evidence that environmental air pollution is associated with the development of chronic inflammatory arthritides (CIA). The role of air pollutants on the biological treatment (biological disease‐modifying antirheumatic drugs [bDMARDs]) response of CIA is still unclear.

Methods

We retrieved longitudinal data on patients affected by CIA on biological therapies and on the daily concentration of air pollutants in the Verona area. We designed a case‐crossover study to compare the exposure to pollutants in the 60‐day period preceding a drug switch or swap due to disease progression referent to the 60‐day period preceding a visit with stable treatment for at least 6 months.

Results

A total of 1257 patients with CIA (863 with rheumatoid arthritis, 256 with psoriatic arthritis, and 138 with ankylosing spondylitis) with 5454 follow‐up visits were included in the study (median follow‐up 2.09 years [interquartile range: 0.82‐2.58 years]). A total of 282 patients were included in the case‐crossover study. We retrieved 13 636 daily air pollution records. We found that air pollutants’ concentrations were higher in the 60‐day period before a failure of bDMARD response and prior to a switch or swap compared with the period preceding a visit with stable bDMARD therapy for at least 6 months.

Conclusion

We found that environmental air pollution was a determinant of poor response to bDMARDs in a cohort of patients with CIA followed over a 5‐year period. An intervention aimed at decreasing fossil combustion emissions might have beneficial effects on biologic persistence rates of patients with CIA and economic expenditures related to switches and swaps.

POS0644 AIR POLLUTION IS A PREDICTOR OF POOR RESPONSE TO BIOLOGICAL THERAPIES IN CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY ARTHRITIDES

Background:

There is increasingly evidence that environmental air pollution is associated with both development of chronic inflammatory arthritides (CIA). The role of air pollutants on the treatment response of CIA (including psoriatic arthritis [PsA] and ankylosing spondylitis [AS]) is still unclear.

Objectives:

The objective of the present study is to determine the association between the concentration of air pollutants and biological drug retention rates in CIA.

Methods:

We retrieved longitudinal data of patients affected by CIA on biological therapies and of the daily concentration of air pollutants in the Verona area. We designed a case-crossover study to compare the exposure to pollutants in the 30-day and 60-day periods preceding a drug switch or swap due to disease progression referent to the 30-day and 60-day periods preceding a visit with stable treatment for at least 6 months.

Results:

1,286 patients with CIA (888 with RA, 260 with PsA and 138 with AS) with 5,454 follow-up visits were included in the study. 13,636 daily air pollution records were retrieved. We found an exposure-dependent relationship between exposure to air pollutants and CRP serum levels in CIA. At PM10 exposures of >50 μg/m3 and >40 μg/m3 we found a 150% and 65% higher risk of having CRP above 5 mg/L respectively (OR 2.564, 95% CI 2.114-3.110 and OR 1.659, 95% CI 1.440-1.910, respectively.). If the threshold was set at >30 μg/m3 of PM10 (below the European Union health protection limit) we still found a 38% higher risk of having altered CRP (OR 1.383, 95% CI 1.206-1.588). Among CIA patients, 280 patients (21.7%) had at least 2 follow-up visits with at least one drug switch or swap due to drug inefficacy and one visit with stable treatment for at least 6 months, serving as our sample for the case-crossover study. We found that air pollutants concentrations were higher before a switch or swap due to drug inefficacy (Figure 1A). Figure 1B shows the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve for the prediction of switch or swap due to drug inefficacy. Discriminatory capacity of disease activity alone was the highest (AUC 0.841) but when the prediction model included the concentrations of air pollutants in the 60 days before the visit the discriminatory capacity increased (AUC 0.879).

Figure 1.

A) Mean concentrations of air pollutants in the 60-day period before switch or swap visit compared to the stable treatment visit. p <0.001 between all groups. B) Receiving operating characteristics (ROC) curves for the prediction of switch or swap due to drug inefficacy

Conclusion:

We found that environmental air pollution was a determinant of poor response to biological treatment in a cohort of patients with CIA followed over a 5-year period. Intervention aimed to decrease the fossil combustion emissions might have beneficial effects on biologics persistence rate of patients with CIA.

Disclosure of Interests:

None declared

The Emerging Roles of Endocrine Hormones in Different Arthritic Disorders

The relationship between endocrine hormones and the spectrum of rheumatic conditions has long been discussed in the literature, focusing primarily on sexual hormones, such as estrogens, androgens, prolactin (PRL). Estrogens are indeed involved in the pathogenesis of the main inflammatory arthritis thanks to their effects on the immune system, both stimulatory and inhibitory. The PRL system has been discovered in synovial tissue of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and psoriatic arthritis (PsA), patients and has been propose as a new potential therapeutic target. Besides sexual hormones, in the last years scientific interest about the crosstalk of immune system with other class of hormones has grown. Hormones acting on the bone tissue (i.e. parathyroid hormone, vitamin D) and modulators of the Wnt pathway (i.e. Dickkopf-1) have been demonstrated to play active role in inflammatory arthritis course, defining a new field of research named osteoimmunology. PTH, which is one of the main determinants of Dkkopf-1, plays a crucial role in bone erosions in RA and a correlation between PTH, Trabecular Bone Score (TBS) and disease activity has been found in ankylosing spondylitis (AS). In PSA is under studying the interaction among IL-17 and bone metabolism. The purpose of this review is to discuss and summarize the recent data about the interaction between endocrine hormone and immune system in the main rheumatic disorders, covering in particular the role of bone-related hormones and cytokines. We will describe this relationship from a biochemical, diagnostic and therapeutic perspective, with a particular focus on RA, PsA and AS.

The troubling liaison between cancer and metabolic syndrome in chronic inflammatory rheumatic diseases

Background

Several studies on community populations found that metabolic syndrome (MetS) is associated with higher risk for total incident cancer with a predisposition for specific types of cancer. These findings have never been analyzed in patients with chronic inflammatory rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases (RMD). We assessed prevalence/incidence and factors related to the development of cancer in a large cohort of these patients and evaluate whether MetS and its components were associated with cancer independent of traditional markers of inflammation.

Methods

Between March 2014 and April 2016, 474 patients with RMD involved in a cardiovascular primary prevention program were consecutively recruited into this ambispective (combination of retrospective/prospective) study. They underwent clinical, laboratory, and echocardiographic evaluations. MetS was diagnosed according to the ATPIII criteria.

Results

Duration of follow-up was 42 [18–60] months. Patients with a diagnosis of cancer (made before recruitment or during follow-up) were 46 (9.7%). Cancer was diagnosed in 22/76 patients (29%) with MetS and in 24/398 patients (6%, p < 0.001) without MetS; nearly two thirds of malignancies belonged to those traditionally related to MetS. MetS was the strongest cancer risk factor. Cancer was positively associated with the number of MetS components identified in each patient. Beyond MetS, cancer was associated to older age and increased inflammatory disease activity; this information allowed to build a simple performance indicator highly sensitive for cancer development.

Conclusion

In light of our results, an increasingly accurate assessment of MetS would be required in patients with RMD as potential measure of clinical outcomes including the risk of cancer.

Factors associated with referral for osteoporosis care in men: a real-life study of a nationwide dataset

In the present observational cohort study in 4902 men and 9804 women, we found that the factors associated with osteoporosis care utilization in men were comorbidities, adjuvant hormonal therapy for prostate cancer, vertebral or hip fractures, and glucocorticoid treatment.

INTRODUCTION

Male osteoporosis is associated with an important clinical and economic burden worldwide; nevertheless, undertreatment of men with osteoporosis is common. Understanding the factors associated with referral to bone specialists may help to define future interventions to improve access to osteoporosis care for male patients.

METHODS

We conducted a retrospective analysis of a nationwide cohort (DeFRACalc79 database). DeFRACalc79 is a tool that estimates the fracture risk by considering clinical and densitometric risk factors, including the presence of prior hip or vertebral and non-vertebral or non-hip fractures. We compared the clinical characteristics of male individuals with an age-matched cohort of women. Propensity score generation with a 2:1 female-to-male ratio was performed using a logistic regression model to age-match the cohorts.

RESULTS

We analyzed a sample of 4902 men at high risk for osteoporosis. We found that the factors associated with osteoporosis care utilization in men were the presence of comorbidities (OR 1.939, 95% CI 1.799-2.090), adjuvant hormonal therapy for prostate cancer (OR 1.482, 95% CI 1.315-1.670), the presence of vertebral or hip fractures (OR 1.490, 95% CI 1.378-1.611), and glucocorticoid treatment (OR 2.573, 95% CI 2.274-2.832).

CONCLUSIONS

Men are more commonly referred to the bone specialist with a prevalent fragility fracture and/or diagnosis of secondary osteoporosis as compared with women. Our study suggests that there is a lack of screening for the primary prevention of osteoporosis in men as compared with that in women.

Left ventricular hypertrophy predicts poorer cardiovascular outcome in normotensive normoglycemic patients with rheumatoid arthritis

INTRODUCTION

Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) develop early changes in left ventricular (LV) geometry and experience cardiovascular events in excess than in the general population. This study was designed to assess prevalence, predictors and prognostic role of LV hypertrophy (LVH) in a selected group of RA patients with normal blood pressure and glycemia who should be at low risk for LVH.

METHODS

We prospectively analyzed 241 normotensive normoglycemic RA patients (mean age 53 ± 12 years, 61% women) involved in a primary prevention program for cardiovascular diseases who were followed-up for 40 (24-56) months. LVH was detected by echocardiography and defined as LV mass ≥49.2 g/m^2.7 for men and ≥46.7 g/m^2.7 for women. Primary outcome was a composite of cardiovascular death/hospitalization.

RESULTS

LVH was detected in 39 patients (16%). Older age (>53 years), greater body mass index (BMI > 25 kg/m² ), longer duration of RA disease, anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibody (ACPA) positivity and concentric LV geometry were the variables associated with LVH. During the follow-up, a cardiovascular event occurred in 12 of 39 (31%) patients with LVH and in 22 of 202 (11%; P < .001) patients without LVH. LVH independently predicted cardiovascular events (hazards ratio 3.28 [95% CI 1.03-9.20], P = .03) at Cox regression analysis together with C-reactive protein and ACPA positivity.

CONCLUSIONS

Nearly one-sixth of normotensive normoglycemic RA patients analyzed in a primary prevention program for cardiovascular diseases has LVH which is associated with obesity and older age, and strongly predicts cardiovascular event in these subjects.

Is central sensitization an important determinant of functional disability in patients with chronic inflammatory arthritides?

Background

Central sensitization (CS) is a condition characterized by a disproportionate response to pain stimuli. We sought to investigate the prevalence of CS in patients with inflammatory arthritides and its association with measures of disease activity and functional disability.

Methods

We conducted an observational retrospective study in psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. We administered to all the subjects in the study the CS inventory (CSI), a questionnaire that has been used for the diagnosis of CS. Demographic and clinical characteristics were collected as well as measures or disease activity [i.e. Simple Disease Activity Index, Disease Activity Score in PsA (DAPSA)] and functional disability [Health Assessment Questionnaire Disability Index (HAQ-DI)]. Patients with fibromyalgia were excluded from the analyses. The primary outcome measure was the presence of functional disability as assessed by HAQ-DI >1.

Results

We enrolled 150 patients with inflammatory arthritides (78 PsA and 72 RA). Prevalence of CS was observed in 35.3% of the overall sample (29% in RA, 42.9% in PsA). Binary logistic regressions showed a strong, independent and linear association between functional disability and CS in both PsA and RA patients. The strength of this association was greater in PsA than in RA.

Conclusion

CS is an important determinant of functional disability in patients with chronic inflammatory arthritides. PsA appeared to be more vulnerable to CS. In addition, in the presence of CS, DAPSA did not adequately capture the occurrence of functional disability. Therefore, special attention should be paid to PsA patients, in whom the concomitant diagnosis of CS should be routinely ruled out.

Diffuse Idiopathic Skeletal Hyperostosis (DISH) in Type 2 Diabetes: A New Imaging Possibility and a New Biomarker

We performed a cross-sectional study to investigate the prevalence of Diffuse Idiopathic Skeletal Hyperostosis (DISH) through Dual-Energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) Vertebral Fracture Assessment (VFA) in a group of post-menopausal women with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM). We also explored several biomarkers of bone turnover metabolism, including Wnt pathway modulators. DXA-VFA was performed to detect the presence of DISH. Serum samples were collected from all patients at the time of study recruitment. 16 different serum biomarkers were tested between the two subgroups. Given the exploratory nature of the study, we did not adjust for multiplicity. At VFA analysis, among 96 individuals enrolled in the study 20 (20.8%) showed features of DISH. No statistically significant difference was found for BMD values, between the DISH and NO-DISH subgroups. Concerning blood biomarkers, DISH patients showed a significant difference only in the sclerostin serum levels (32 vs 35.5 pmol/L, for the DISH and NO-DISH subgroup, respectively; p = 0.010). After adjustment for confounding factors, sclerostin serum levels remained significantly lower in DISH group (p = 0.002). We demonstrated a non-negligible prevalence of DISH in a population of post-menopausal women affected by T2DM and suggested low serum sclerostin as a possible key feature associated with DISH presence. In addition, we propose DXA-VFA analysis, whose radiation dose is considerably lower than conventional radiography, as a viable diagnostic and prognostic mean to obtain data not only on bone health, but also for the screening for DISH in subjects at risk.

Association between environmental air pollution and rheumatoid arthritis flares

Objectives

Environmental air pollution has been linked to the pathogenesis of RA. Nevertheless, evidence linking higher concentrations of air pollutants with the risk of RA reactivations is missing. The objective of the present study was to determine the association between RA flares and air pollution.

Methods

We collected longitudinal data of patients affected by RA and of the daily concentration of air pollutants in the Verona area. We designed a case-crossover study. We compared the exposure to pollutants in the 30-day and 60-day periods preceding an arthritic flare referent to the 30-day and 60-day preceding a low-disease activity visit.

Results

The study included 888 patients with RA with 3396 follow-up visits; 13 636 daily air pollution records were retrieved. We found an exposure–response relationship between the concentration of air pollutants and the risk of having abnormal CRP levels. Patients exposed to greater concentrations of air pollutants were at higher risk of having CRP levels ≥5 mg/l. Concentrations of CO, NO, NO2, NOx, PM10, PM2.5 and O3 were higher in the 60-day period preceding a flare.

Conclusions

We found a striking association between air pollution and RA disease severity and reactivations in a cohort of patients followed over a 5-year period. The exposure to high levels of air pollutants was associated with increased CRP levels and a higher risk of experiencing a flare of arthritis. This excessive risk was evident at very low levels of exposure.

Vitamin D and disease severity in coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19)

The role of 25-OH-vitamin D in the assessment of coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) has not been investigated. We sought to investigate the prevalence of 25-OH-vitamin D deficiency among COVID-19 patients, and to determine the associations between 25-OH-vitamin D status and the severity of the disease. We have conducted a retrospective observational study of COVID-19 patients admitted to the University of Verona Hospital Trust. Demographic, clinical and biochemical parameters were collected at hospital admission, and serum 25-OH-vitamin D levels were measured. The following outcomes were assessed: arterial partial oxygen pressure (PaO2); C-reactive protein (CRP); length of hospitalization; requirement of oxygen therapy; non-invasive ventilation (NIV); mechanical ventilation; and death. Among 61 patients enrolled, 72.1% was 25-OH-vitamin D deficient (<20 ng/mL) and 57.4% had 25-OHvitamin D <15 ng/mL. Patients with arterial PaO2 <60 mmHg had significantly lower mean 25-OH-vitamin D levels compared to patients with PaO2 ≥60 mmHg (13.3 ng/mL vs 20.4 ng/mL respectively, p=0.03). Vitamin D deficiency was associated with 3-fold higher risk of having arterial pO2 <60 mmHg. 25-OH-vitamin D deficiency was associated with increased CRP and dyspnea. 25-OH-vitamin D deficiency was associated with more severe systemic inflammatory response and respiratory failure in COVID-19 patients.

Human organ donation and spirituality: a multicentre observational study aimed at healthcare professionals who work in the Italian context

Aim

This study aimed to assess if spirituality could be a predictor of organ donation, using a descriptive/knowledge survey aimed at healthcare professionals working in Italy.

Methods

This multicentre, descriptive observational study was conducted in three Italian regions (Lombardy, Piedmont and Apulia). Two scales were used for the data collection: the Organ Donation Attitude Scale (ODAS) to explore the healthcare staff's attitudes towards organ donation and the Spiritual Health Life-Orientation Measure (SHALOM) to explore their perception of the concept of spirituality.

Results

The sample included 688 healthcare professionals (460 females, 66.9%). The analysis of their attitudes, assessed as their predisposition to organ donation, evidenced the women's higher degree of agreement regarding the safety and effectiveness of the practice (40.7% versus 31.1%, p = 0.001). The sample showed a high positive attitude towards organ donation (M = 4.25, SD = 0.50), whereas the level of spirituality was slightly lower than the midpoint of the Likert scale (M = 2.76, SD = 1.31). Spirituality positively predicted the positive attitude towards organ donation among Lombard professionals with shorter (-1 SD) careers (b = 0.078, p = 0.044) and among both Piedmontese (b = 0.250, p < 0.001) and Apulian (b = 0.458, p < 0.001) professionals with longer (+1 SD) careers.

Discussion

Regarding organ donation, the surveyed healthcare professionals showed higher scores in the positive attitude section and lower scores in the negative attitude section, regardless of the geographical context of reference.

Cancer in adult patients with inflammatory arthritis is associated with high ascending aortic stiffness and left ventricular hypertrophy and diastolic dysfunction

Inflammatory arthritis, including rheumatoid arthritis (RA), psoriatic arthritis (PsA), and ankylosing spondylitis (AS), are associated with both cancer and cardiovascular (CV) adverse events. Cancer and CV abnormalities have coincident etiologic and pathophysiologic pathways in RA/PsA/AS patients. However, a comprehensive evaluation of CV system has never been performed in these patients in relation to the presence of cancer. This study was designed to assess the possible relationships between CV abnormalities and cancer among RA/PsA/AS patients. Between March 2014 and March 2015, 414 patients (214 RA, 125 PsA, and 75 SA) in sinus rhythm without known cardiac disease underwent clinical and color Doppler echocardiographic evaluation and were prospectively followed up. Patients had a mean age of 58 ± 12 years, 64% women. Forty-two patients (10.1%) had a diagnosis of cancer (made before enrollment in 24 cases and in 18 cases during the 36 months of follow-up). Skin cancer was the most frequent malignancy found, followed by thyroid, colon, pancreas, and breast cancer. Patients who had cancer were older with higher systolic blood pressure, more frequent hypertension and moderate/high disease activity, left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy, diastolic dysfunction, and higher ascending aortic stiffness index (AOSI) than those who had not. At multivariate logistic regression analysis, LV diastolic dysfunction and abnormally high AOSI emerged as conditions associated with cancer together with older age and hypertension. Cancer in RA/PsA/AS adults without history of CV disease is closely associated with specific asymptomatic CV abnormalities, such as LV diastolic dysfunction and reduced vascular elasticity, which are independent of age and hypertension.

Osteoporosis in Inflammatory Arthritides: New Perspective on Pathogenesis and Treatment

Osteoporosis is a skeletal disorder characterized by impaired bone strength and increased risk of fragility fracture and is among the most relevant comorbidities of rheumatic diseases. The purpose of the present review is to discuss the pathogenesis of local and systemic bone involvement in inflammatory arthritides, especially Rheumatoid Arthritis, Psoriatic Arthritis, and Spondyloarthritides, as well as the effect of anti-rheumatic treatments and anti-osteoporotic medication on bone health and fracture incidence, including recent data on novel therapeutic perspective.

Risk of fragility fractures in obesity and diabetes: a retrospective analysis on a nation-wide cohort

This study aims to investigate the role of obesity and diabetes on bone health in a nation-wide cohort of women with high risk of fracture.

INTRODUCTION

The role of obesity and diabetes on fracture risk is yet poorly understood. Body mass index (BMI) and bone mineral density (BMD) are strongly correlated; however, patients with elevated BMI are not protected against fractures, configuring the obesity paradox. A similar controversial association has been also found in diabetic patients. Herein, we present a retrospective analysis on 59,950 women.

METHODS

Using a new web-based fracture risk-assessment tool, we have collected demographic (including BMI), densitometric, and clinical data (including history of vertebral or hip and non-vertebral, non-hip fractures, presence of comorbidities). We performed a propensity score generation with 1:1 matching for patients in the obese (BMI ≥ 30) and non-obese (BMI < 30) groups, in the diabetics and non-diabetics. Propensity score estimates were estimated using a logistic regression model derived from the clinical variables: age, lumbar spine T-score, and femoral neck T-score.

RESULTS

We found an association between diabetes and fractures of any kind (OR 1.3, 95% CI 1.1-1.4 and 1.3, 95% CI 1.2-1.5 for vertebral or hip fractures and non-vertebral, non-hip fractures, respectively). Obesity, on the other hand, was significantly associated only with non-vertebral, non-hip fractures (OR 1.3, 95% CI 1.1-1.6). To estimate the individual effect of obesity and diabetes on bone health, we ran sensitivity analyses which included obese non-diabetic patients and non-obese diabetic patients, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Non-obese diabetics had the highest risk of vertebral or hip fracture, whereas obese non-diabetics predominantly had non-vertebral, non-hip fracture's risk. These results should raise awareness in clinical practice when evaluating diabetic and/or obese patients.

Mediterranean diet and quality of life in women treated for breast cancer: A baseline analysis of DEDiCa multicentre trial

Evidence suggests a beneficial role of the Mediterranean Diet (MedDiet) on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in healthy subjects. HRQoL is relevant in cancer therapy and disease outcomes, therefore we investigated the association between adherence to the MedDiet and HRQoL in breast cancer survivors participating in the multicentre trial DEDiCa. Diet and HRQoL were assessed at baseline in a subgroup of 309 women enrolled within 12 months of breast cancer diagnosis without metastasis (stages I-III, mean age 52±1 yrs, BMI 27±7 kg/m²). The 14-item PREDIMED questionnaire was used to analyse adherence to the MedDiet. HRQoL was assessed with three validated questionnaires measuring physical, mental, emotional and social factors: EQ-5D-3L, EORTC QLQ-C30 and EORTC QLQ-BR23. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) and multivariate analyses were performed to assess the possible role of the MedDiet on HRQoL. Patients with higher adherence to MedDiet (PREDIMED score >7) showed significantly higher scores for physical functioning (p = 0.02) and lower scores on the symptomatic pain scale (p = 0.04) assessed by the EORTC QLQ-C30 questionnaire compared to patients with a lower adherence to MedDiet (PREDIMED score ≤7). Higher scores from the EQ-5D-3L indicating higher well-being were observed mainly in participants with higher MedDiet adherence (p = 0.05). In adjusted multivariate analyses significant positive associations were found between MedDiet, physical functioning (p = 0.001) and EQ 5D-3L score (p = 0.003) while inverse associations were found with pain and insomnia symptoms (p = 0.005 and p = 0.029, respectively). These results suggest that higher adherence to the MedDiet in breast cancer survivors is associated with better aspects of quality of life, specifically higher physical functioning, better sleep, lower pain and generally higher well-being confirming findings in healthy subjects.

Wnt Inhibitors and Bone Turnover Markers in Patients With Polymyalgia Rheumatica and Acute Effects of Glucocorticoid Treatment

Background: In polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR), data on bone turnover markers (BTM), on Wnt inhibitors (Dkk-1, sclerostin) and their changes induced by glucocorticoids (GC) are lacking. The aims of our study were to compare the baseline levels of Wnt inhibitors and BTM in PMR patients with healthy controls (HC) and to study their changes over the first 4 weeks of GC treatment.

Materials and Methods: We enrolled 17 treatment-naïve patients affected by PMR and 17 age and sex-matched healthy controls (HC) from retired hospital personnel. PMR patients were administered methylprednisolone 16 mg daily for 4 weeks. Blood samples were taken at baseline and at week 4 for the PMR group, a single sample was taken for HC. N-propeptide of type I collagen (PINP), C-terminal telopeptide of type I collagen (CTX-I), sclerostin, Dkk-1, and C-reactive protein (CRP) were dosed.

Results: At baseline, Dkk-1 was significantly higher in the PMR group as compared to HC (p = 0.002) while PINP, CTX-I and sclerostin levels were comparable between PMR patients and HC, After 4 weeks of GC treatment we found in the PMR group a decrease of PINP (mean ± SD percentage decrement as compared to baseline −40 ± 18.6%, p < 0.001), CTX-I (−23.5 ± 41.3%, p = 0.032), Dkk-1 (−22.4 ± 39.6, p = 0.033), and sclerostin (−32.49 ± 20.47, p < 0.001) as compared to baseline levels.

Conclusions: In treatment-naïve PMR, systemic inflammation is associated with a dysregulation of the Wnt system (increased Dkk-1). Within the 1st month, treatment with GC showed noteworthy effects on bone resorption, formation, and on Wnt pathway modulators.

Providing high-quality care remotely to patients with rare bone diseases during COVID-19 pandemic

During the COVID-19 outbreak, the European Reference Network on Rare Bone Diseases (ERN BOND) coordination team and Italian rare bone diseases healthcare professionals created the "COVID-19 Helpline for Rare Bone Diseases" in an attempt to provide high-quality information and expertise on rare bone diseases remotely to patients and healthcare professionals. The present position statement describes the key characteristics of the Helpline initiative, along with the main aspects and topics that recurrently emerged as central for rare bone diseases patients and professionals. The main topics highlighted are general recommendations, pulmonary complications, drug treatment, trauma, pregnancy, children and elderly people, and patient associations role. The successful experience of the "COVID-19 Helpline for Rare Bone Diseases" launched in Italy could serve as a primer of gold-standard remote care for rare bone diseases for the other European countries and globally. Furthermore, similar COVID-19 helplines could be considered and applied for other rare diseases in order to implement remote patients' care.