| 1. |
- Amaral, Rita, et al.
(författare)
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Profiling Persistent Asthma Phenotypes in Adolescents : A Longitudinal Diagnostic Evaluation from the INSPIRERS Studies
- 2021
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Ingår i: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. - : MDPI. - 1661-7827 .- 1660-4601. ; 18:3
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We aimed to identify persistent asthma phenotypes among adolescents and to evaluate longitudinally asthma-related outcomes across phenotypes. Adolescents (13-17 years) from the prospective, observational, and multicenter INSPIRERS studies, conducted in Portugal and Spain, were included (n = 162). Latent class analysis was applied to demographic, environmental, and clinical variables, collected at a baseline medical visit. Longitudinal differences in clinical variables were assessed at a 4-month follow-up telephone contact (n = 128). Three classes/phenotypes of persistent asthma were identified. Adolescents in class 1 (n = 87) were highly symptomatic at baseline and presented the highest number of unscheduled healthcare visits per month and exacerbations per month, both at baseline and follow-up. Class 2 (n = 32) was characterized by female predominance, more frequent obesity, and uncontrolled upper/lower airways symptoms at baseline. At follow-up, there was a significant increase in the proportion of controlled lower airway symptoms (p < 0.001). Class 3 (n = 43) included mostly males with controlled lower airways symptoms; at follow-up, while keeping symptom control, there was a significant increase in exacerbations/month (p = 0.015). We have identified distinct phenotypes of persistent asthma in adolescents with different patterns in longitudinal asthma-related outcomes, supporting the importance of profiling asthma phenotypes in predicting disease outcomes that might inform targeted interventions and reduce future risk.
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| 2. |
- Simoes Cunha, Mafalda, et al.
(författare)
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Symptoms of anxiety and depression in patients with persistent asthma : a cross-sectional analysis of the INSPIRERS studies
- 2023
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Ingår i: BMJ Open. - : BMJ Publishing Group Ltd. - 2044-6055. ; 13:5
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- ObjectivesAnxiety and depression are relevant comorbidities in asthma, but, in Portugal and Spain, data on this topic are scarce. We assessed, in patients with asthma, the frequency of anxiety and depression using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and the European Quality of Life Five Dimension Questionnaire (EQ-5D); the level of agreement between these questionnaires, and the factors associated with these symptoms.MethodsThis is a secondary analysis of the INSPIRERS studies. A total of 614 adolescents and adults with persistent asthma (32.6 +/- 16.9 years, 64.7% female) were recruited from 30 primary care centres and 32 allergy, pulmonology and paediatric clinics. Demographic and clinical characteristics, HADS and EQ-5D were collected. A score >= 8 on Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale-Anxiety/Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale-Depression or a positive answer to EQ-5D item 5 indicated the presence of these symptoms. Agreement was determined by Cohen's kappa. Two multivariable logistic regressions were built.ResultsAccording to HADS, 36% of the participants had symptoms of anxiety and 12% of depression. According to EQ-5D, 36% of the participants had anxiety/depression. The agreement between questionnaires in identifying anxiety/depression was moderate (k=0.55, 95% CI 0.48 to 0.62). Late asthma diagnosis, comorbidities and female gender were predictors of anxiety/depression, while better asthma control, health-related quality of life and perception of health were associated with lower odds for anxiety/depression.ConclusionAt least 1/3 of the patients with persistent asthma experience symptoms of anxiety/depression, showing the relevance of screening these disorders in patients with asthma. EQ-5D and HADS questionnaires showed a moderate agreement in the identification of anxiety/depression symptoms. The identified associated factors need to be further investigated in long-term studies.
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| 3. |
- Cachim, Afonso, et al.
(författare)
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Measuring adherence to inhaled control medication in patients with asthma : Comparison among an asthma app, patient self-report and physician assessment
- 2023
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Ingår i: Clinical and Translational Allergy. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 2045-7022. ; 13:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BackgroundPrevious studies have demonstrated the feasibility of using an asthma app to support medication management and adherence but failed to compare with other measures currently used in clinical practice. However, in a clinical setting, any additional adherence measurement must be evaluated in the context of both the patient and physician perspectives so that it can also help improve the process of shared decision making. Thus, we aimed to compare different measures of adherence to asthma control inhalers in clinical practice, namely through an app, patient self-report and physician assessment.MethodsThis study is a secondary analysis of three prospective multicentre observational studies with patients (≥13 years old) with persistent asthma recruited from 61 primary and secondary care centres in Portugal. Patients were invited to use the InspirerMundi app and register their inhaled medication. Adherence was measured by the app as the number of doses taken divided by the number of doses scheduled each day and two time points were considered for analysis: 1-week and 1-month. At baseline, patients and physicians independently assessed adherence to asthma control inhalers during the previous week using a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS 0–100).ResultsA total of 193 patients (72% female; median [P25–P75] age 28 [19–41] years old) were included in the analysis. Adherence measured by the app was lower (1 week: 31 [0–71]%; 1 month: 18 [0–48]%) than patient self-report (80 [60–95]) and physician assessment (82 [51–94]) (p < 0.001). A negligible non-significant correlation was found between the app and subjective measurements (ρ 0.118–0.156, p > 0.05). There was a moderate correlation between patient self-report and physician assessment (ρ = 0.596, p < 0.001).ConclusionsAdherence measured by the app was lower than that reported by the patient or the physician. This was expected as objective measurements are commonly lower than subjective evaluations, which tend to overestimate adherence. Nevertheless, the low adherence measured by the app may also be influenced by the use of the app itself and this needs to be considered in future studies.
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| 4. |
- Caliz, Rafael, et al.
(författare)
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Gender-Specific Effects of Genetic Variants within Th1 and Th17 Cell-Mediated Immune Response Genes on the Risk of Developing Rheumatoid Arthritis
- 2013
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Ingår i: PLoS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 8:8
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The present study was conducted to explore whether single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in Th1 and Th17 cell-mediated immune response genes differentially influence the risk of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in women and men. In phase one, 27 functional/tagging polymorphisms in C-type lectins and MCP-1/CCR2 axis were genotyped in 458 RA patients and 512 controls. Carriers of Dectin-2(rs4264222T) allele had an increased risk of RA (OR = 1.47, 95% CI 1.10-1.96) whereas patients harboring the DC-SIGN(rs4804803G), MCP-1(rs1024611G), MCP-1(rs13900T) and MCP-1(rs4586C) alleles had a decreased risk of developing the disease (OR = 0.66, 95% CI 0.49-0.88; OR = 0.66, 95% CI 0.50-0.89; OR = 0.73, 95% CI 0.55-0.97 and OR = 0.68, 95% CI 0.51-0.91). Interestingly, significant gender-specific differences were observed for Dectin-2(rs4264222) and Dectin-2(rs7134303): women carrying the Dectin-2(rs4264222T) and Dectin-2(rs7134303G) alleles had an increased risk of RA (OR = 1.93, 95% CI 1.34-2.79 and OR = 1.90, 95% CI 1.29-2.80). Also five other SNPs showed significant associations only with one gender: women carrying the MCP-1(rs1024611G), MCP-1(rs13900T) and MCP-1(rs4586C) alleles had a decreased risk of RA (OR = 0.61, 95% CI 0.43-0.87; OR = 0.67, 95% CI 0.47-0.95 and OR = 0.60, 95% CI 0.42-0.86). In men, carriers of the DC-SIGN(rs2287886A) allele had an increased risk of RA (OR = 1.70, 95% CI 1.03-2.78), whereas carriers of the DC-SIGN(rs4804803G) had a decreased risk of developing the disease (OR = 0.53, 95% CI 0.32-0.89). In phase 2, we genotyped these SNPs in 754 RA patients and 519 controls, leading to consistent gender-specific associations for Dectin-2(rs4264222), MCP-1(rs1024611), MCP-1(rs13900) and DC-SIGN(rs4804803) polymorphisms in the pooled sample (OR = 1.38, 95% CI 1.08-1.77; OR = 0.74, 95% CI 0.58-0.94; OR = 0.76, 95% CI 0.59-0.97 and OR = 0.56, 95% CI 0.34-0.93). SNP-SNP interaction analysis of significant SNPs also showed a significant two-locus interaction model in women that was not seen in men. This model consisted of Dectin-2(rs4264222) and Dectin-2(rs7134303) SNPs and suggested a synergistic effect between the variants. These findings suggest that Dectin-2, MCP-1 and DC-SIGN polymorphisms may, at least in part, account for gender-associated differences in susceptibility to RA.
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| 5. |
- Foessl, Ines, et al.
(författare)
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Bone Phenotyping Approaches in Human, Mice and Zebrafish – Expert Overview of the EU Cost Action GEMSTONE (“GEnomics of MusculoSkeletal traits TranslatiOnal NEtwork”)
- 2021
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Endocrinology. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 1664-2392. ; 12
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- A synoptic overview of scientific methods applied in bone and associated research fields across species has yet to be published. Experts from the EU Cost Action GEMSTONE (“GEnomics of MusculoSkeletal Traits translational Network”) Working Group 2 present an overview of the routine techniques as well as clinical and research approaches employed to characterize bone phenotypes in humans and selected animal models (mice and zebrafish) of health and disease. The goal is consolidation of knowledge and a map for future research. This expert paper provides a comprehensive overview of state-of-the-art technologies to investigate bone properties in humans and animals – including their strengths and weaknesses. New research methodologies are outlined and future strategies are discussed to combine phenotypic with rapidly developing –omics data in order to advance musculoskeletal research and move towards “personalised medicine”.
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| 6. |
- Sousa, Elsa, et al.
(författare)
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Ankylosing Spondylitis Susceptibility and Severity-Contribution of TNF Gene Promoter Polymorphisms at Positions-238 and-308
- 2009
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Ingår i: Contemporary Challenges in Autoimmunity. - : Wiley. - 0077-8923. ; 1173, s. 581-588
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a chronic inflammatory disease in which genetic factors play a central role. The efficacy of TNF blockers has reoriented research in this field in order to explain the influence of TNF in AS pathogenesis. The objective of this study was to access the influence of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at positions -308 and -238 of the promoter region of TNF gene on AS susceptibility and prognosis. SNPS were determined by restriction fragment length polymorphisms in patients and controls. AS patients exhibited a decreased frequency of the A allele at position -238 (10%) when compared with controls (18%), suggesting that this could be a protective factor for disease susceptibility. In addition, the -308 GA/AA genotypes were associated with later disease onset in AS patients. These results suggest that TNF gene promoter polymorphisms at positions -238 and -308 could have a small influence on AS susceptibility and prognosis.
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