1.
Östlund, Gunnel, 1956-, et al.
(author)
Emotions related to participation restrictions as experienced by patients with early rheumatoid arthritis : A qualitative interview study (The Swedish TIRA project)
2014
In: Clinical Rheumatology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0770-3198 .- 1434-9949. ; 33:10, s. 1403-1413
Journal article (peer-reviewed) abstract
Background: Psychological distress is a well-known complication in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), but knowledge regarding emotions, and their relationship to participation restrictions, is scarce.Objectives: To explore emotions related to participation restrictions by patients with early RA. Method: In this study, 48 patients with early RA, aged 20-63 years, were interviewed about participation restrictions using Critical Incident Technique. Information from transcribed interviews was converted into dilemmas and linked to ICF participation codes. The emotions described were condensed and categorized.Results: Hopelessness and sadness were described when trying to perform daily activities such as getting up in the mornings, getting dressed, or not being able to perform duties at work. Sadness was experienced in relation to not being able to continue leisure activities or care for children. Examples of fear descriptions were found in relation to deteriorating health and fumble fear, which made the individual withdraw from activities as a result of mistrusting the body. Anger and irritation were described in relation to domestic and employed work, but also in social relations where the individual felt unable to continue valued activities. Shame or embarrassment was described when participation restrictions became visible in public.Conclusions: Feelings of grief, aggressiveness, fear and shame are emotions closely related to participation restrictions in everyday life in early RA. Emotions related to disability need to be addressed both in clinical settings in order to optimize rehabilitative multi-professional interventions and in research to achieve further knowledge.
2.
Heikkila, Katriina, et al.
(author)
Job strain and the risk of inflammatory bowel diseases : individual-participant meta-analysis of 95 000 men and women
2014
In: PLOS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 9:2, s. e88711-
Journal article (peer-reviewed) abstract
Background and Aims: Many clinicians, patients and patient advocacy groups believe stress to have a causal role in inflammatory bowel diseases, such as Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. However, this is not corroborated by clear epidemiological research evidence. We investigated the association between work-related stress and incident Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis using individual-level data from 95 000 European adults. Methods: We conducted individual-participant data meta-analyses in a set of pooled data from 11 prospective European studies. All studies are a part of the IPD-Work Consortium. Work-related psychosocial stress was operationalised as job strain (a combination of high demands and low control at work) and was self-reported at baseline. Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis were ascertained from national hospitalisation and drug reimbursement registers. The associations between job strain and inflammatory bowel disease outcomes were modelled using Cox proportional hazards regression. The study-specific results were combined in random effects meta-analyses. Results: Of the 95 379 participants who were free of inflammatory bowel disease at baseline, 111 men and women developed Crohn's disease and 414 developed ulcerative colitis during follow-up. Job strain at baseline was not associated with incident Crohn's disease (multivariable-adjusted random effects hazard ratio: 0.83, 95% confidence interval: 0.48, 1.43) or ulcerative colitis (hazard ratio: 1.06, 95% CI: 0.76, 1.48). There was negligible heterogeneity among the study-specific associations. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that job strain, an indicator of work-related stress, is not a major risk factor for Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis.
3.
Larsson, Ingrid, 1968-, et al.
(author)
Randomized controlled trial of a nurse-led rheumatology clinic for monitoring biological therapy
2014
In: Journal of Advanced Nursing. - West Sussex : Wiley. - 0309-2402 .- 1365-2648. ; 70:1, s. 164-175
Journal article (peer-reviewed) abstract
AimTo compare and evaluate the treatment outcomes of a nurse-led rheumatology clinic and a rheumatologist-led clinic in patients with low disease activity or in remission who are undergoing biological therapy.BackgroundPatients with chronic inflammatory arthritis treated with biological therapy are usually monitored by rheumatologists. Nurse-led rheumatology clinics have been proposed in patients with low disease activity or in remission.DesignRandomized controlled trial.MethodsA 12-month follow-up trial was conducted between October 2009 and August 2011, where 107 patients were randomized into two groups with a 6-month follow-up to a nurse-led rheumatology clinic based on person-centred care (intervention group; n = 53) or to a rheumatologist-led clinic (control group; n = 54). The hypothesis was that the nurse-led clinic outcomes would not be inferior to those obtained from a rheumatologist-led clinic at the 12-month follow-up. The primary outcome was disease activity measured by Disease Activity Score 28.ResultsA total of 47 patients in the intervention group and 50 in the control group completed the 12-month trial. The trial revealed no statistically significant differences between groups in mean change of Disease Activity Score 28, Visual Analogue Scales for pain, the Health Assessment Questionnaire, satisfaction with or confidence in obtaining rheumatology care.ConclusionPatients with stable chronic inflammatory arthritis undergoing biological therapy could be monitored by a nurse-led rheumatology clinic without difference in outcome as measured by the Disease Activity Score 28.
