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- Sundström, Björn, 1968-, et al.
(författare)
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Cardiovascular risk factors among patients with ankylosing spondylitis in comparison to the general population
- 2012
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Ingår i: Ann Rheum Dis 2012;71(Suppl3):648.
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background:An increased risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) has been reported among patients with Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS). As of today, little is known what causes this increase.Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate whether traditional CVD risk factors, such as smoking, diet, physical activity and atherogenic blood lipids, differ among AS patients in comparison to the general population.Methods: Eighty-nine patients diagnosed with AS by fulfilling the modified New York criteria were identified in the databases of a community intervention programme, the Västerbotten Intervention Programme (VIP). The patients were compared with 356 controls matched for age, sex and study period. As part of the VIP, participants have completed questionnaires regarding diet, physical activity and smoking. Additionally, the VIP included measurement of blood pressure, height and weight, and blood samples analysed for cholesterol, serum triglycerides and blood glucose.Results: Levels of serum triglycerides (p<0.01) and cholesterol (p<0.01) were significantly lower in the patient group. Among the patients, the level of triglycerides was inversely correlated to the intake of total fat (rs = -0.25, p<0.05), monounsaturated fats (rs = -0.29, p<0.05) and positively correlated to the intake of carbohydrates (rs =0.26, p<0.05). These correlations were not seen among the controls. No significant differences were found between patients and controls regarding diet, physical activity, exercise frequency or smoking habits nor in measurements of body mass index (BMI), weight or blood pressure.Conclusions: The patients exhibited significantly lower levels of cholesterol and triglycerides compared with controls. There were correlations between diet and atherogenic blood lipids among the patients which were not found in the control group. The results suggest that there may be differences in fat metabolism among patients with AS in comparison with the general population.
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| 2. |
- Sundström, Björn, 1968-, et al.
(författare)
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Diet, disease activity, and gastrointestinal symptoms in patients with ankylosing spondylitis
- 2011
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Ingår i: Clinical Rheumatology. - London : Springer London. - 0770-3198. ; 30:1, s. 71-76
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The aims of this study were to investigate, firstly, the relationship between diet and disease activity and, secondly, the presence of gastrointestinal symptoms and their relationship to diet among patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) using a cross-sectional design. One hundred sixty-five individuals diagnosed with AS were invited to complete a self-administered postal questionnaire regarding demographic data, diet, medication, and gastrointestinal symptoms in addition to two established disease assessment questionnaires, i.e., the Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI) and Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Functional Index (BASFI). No significant correlation between diet and disease activity was found. Overall, 27% of the patients reported aggravating gastrointestinal problems when consuming certain foodstuff(s). The 30% of patients who reported suffering from gastrointestinal pain had significantly greater disease activity and poorer functional status according to their BASDAI and BASFI scores (p < 0.01 and p = 0.01, respectively). Patients who reported gastrointestinal pain had a significantly higher consumption of vegetables (p < 0.01) and lower consumption of milk and soured milk (p = 0.04). No significant correlation was found between the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) and gastrointestinal symptoms. In multiple regression models, BASDAI and the consumption of vegetables were independent and statistically significant predictors of gastrointestinal pain. To conclude, in a group of Swedish AS patients, no correlation between diet and disease activity could be detected. There were, however, correlations between diet and gastrointestinal pain. Gastrointestinal problems were also found to be prevalent in AS, independent of NSAID usage.
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| 3. |
- Sundström, Björn, 1968-, et al.
(författare)
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Gastric complaints in Ankylosing Spondylitis: : is the silent gut inflammation really silent?
- 2009
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Ingår i: Ann Rheum Dis 2009; 68: 636. - Ann Rheum Dis.
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: There is strong evidence today of a relation between Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS) and inflammatory changes in the bowel. Since symptoms from the bowel is not a major sign of AS, the inflammatory changes have been considered as “silent”.Method: The aim of this study was to investigate the frequency and nature of gastric complaints among patients with AS without a diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and their relation to disease activity, functional status, physical activity and diet by a cross-sectional design. One hundred sixty-five patients with verified diagnosis of AS according to the modified New York criteria, aged 18-70 years received a questionnaire regarding diet, physical activity, gastric complaints and disease status, as measured by BASDAI and BASFI. One hundred twenty-two patients (92 males, 30 females, mean age 50 ±10 years) answered the questionnaire (response rate 74%). Nine patients reported that they had been diagnosed with IBD and were excluded from further analysis, yielding 113 available patients for further analysis. Result: Forty-Nine percent of the patients reported that they experienced loose stools or diarrhea at least twice a month and 18 % reported loose stools or diarrhea more than two times per week. Furthermore, 29 % of the patients reported gastric pain more than twice a month and 21 % reported problems with constipation or hard stools more than two times per month. Patients with reported gastric pain more often than twice a month had significantly higher disease activity and worse functional status according to BASDAI and BASFI (p=0,003 and p=0,006; respectively). Patients with reported loose stools and diarrhea more than twice a week had a trend towards higher disease activity and worse functional status according to BASDAI and BASFI (p=0,08 and p=0,09; respectively). No significant correlation could be found between medication, including consumption of NSAID and these gastric symptoms. Conclusion: Gastric pain is common in AS and could be linked to disease activity and functional status. Loose stools and diarrhea are also common in AS, and could also be linked with disease activity or functional status, although to a lesser degree than gastric pain.
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