FRIDAY, Feb. 23, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- Therapeutic intervention with abatacept is feasible for patients at risk for rheumatoid arthritis, according to a study published online Feb. 13 in The Lancet.

Andrew P. Cope, M.D., from King's College London, and colleagues conducted a multicenter trial involving patients at risk for rheumatoid arthritis with serum antibodies to citrullinated protein antigens and rheumatoid factor with inflammatory joint pain. Participants were randomly assigned (1:1) to 125-mg abatacept subcutaneous injections on a weekly basis or placebo for 12 months (110 and 103, respectively) and were then followed for 12 months.

The researchers found that the primary end point (time to development of clinical synovitis in three or more joints or rheumatoid arthritis according to the American College of Rheumatology and European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology 2010 criteria, whichever was met first) was met by 6 and 29 percent of patients in the abatacept and placebo groups, respectively, during the treatment period. At 24 months, 25 percent of participants in the abatacept group and 37 percent in the placebo group had progressed to rheumatoid arthritis. At 12 months, the estimated proportion remaining arthritis-free was 92.8 and 69.2 percent, respectively. Over 24 months, Kaplan-Meier arthritis-free survival plots favored abatacept. Compared with placebo, abatacept was associated with improvements in pain scores, functional well-being, and quality-of-life measurements during treatment, as well as low scores of subclinical synovitis by ultrasonography.

"Treatment of adults at high risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis with abatacept reduces progression to clinically apparent arthritis during the treatment phase," the authors write.

Several authors disclosed ties to Bristol Myers Squibb, which manufactures abatacept and funded the study.

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FRIDAY, Feb. 23, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- Clinician recommendations are the most significant factor in driving prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening in transgender women, according to a study published online Feb. 14 in JAMA Network Open.

Sandhya Kalavacherla, from the University of California in San Diego, and colleagues sought to understand factors associated with recent PSA screening in transgender women. The analysis included 255 transgender women and 1,020 matched cisgender men participating in the 2018 and 2020 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System surveys.

The researchers found that recent PSA screening rates among transgender women and cisgender men aged 55 to 69 years were 22.2 and 36.3 percent, respectively. Among those aged 70 years and older, rates were higher (41.8 and 40.2 percent, respectively). Transgender women had lower odds of recent screening than cisgender men (odds ratio [OR], 0.65; 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 0.46 to 0.92; P = 0.02). Effect size and significance were similar when accounting for time since the last primary care visit (OR, 0.61; 95 percent CI, 0.42 to 0.87; P = 0.007). However, odds were similar when accounting for whether a clinician recommended a PSA test (OR, 0.83; 95 percent CI, 0.45 to 1.27; P = 0.21). Among transgender women, having a recommendation for PSA testing was the factor most strongly associated with recent screening (OR, 12.40; 95 percent CI, 4.47 to 37.80; P < 0.001).

"These data suggest that disparities in PSA screening among transgender women may be associated with clinician patterns of care rather than differences in sociodemographic characteristics or access to care," the authors write.

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THURSDAY, Feb. 22, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- Adults with the longest television (TV) and/or video viewing time have an increased risk for nocturia, according to a study published online Feb. 21 in Neurourology and Urodynamics.

Junwei Wang, from Wenling Hospital Affiliated to Wenzhou Medical University in Taizhou, China, and colleagues analyzed data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey for 2011 to 2016 involving 13,294 adults aged 20 years and older to examine the correlation between TV and/or video viewing time and the occurrence of nocturia.

The researchers found that individuals in the group with the longest TV and/or video viewing time had a significantly (48 percent) increased risk for nocturia compared with those with the shortest TV and/or video viewing time in a multivariate analysis. In subgroup analyses, there were no significant differences seen in the interaction tests between TV and/or video viewing time and nocturia.

"Increasing public awareness of this potential health risk encourages individuals to be more mindful of their TV and/or video time," the authors write. "For individuals who engage in prolonged TV and/or video time, health care professionals can offer behavioral intervention recommendations, encouraging appropriate screen time management."

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