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Objectives To investigate performance of some of the published psoriatic arthritis ( Ps A) classification criteria as well as Assessment of Spondyloarthritis International Society ( ASAS) criteria for peripheral spondyloarthritis (SpA) in Turkish patients with PsA (in early and late disease subgroups). Methods Patients were recruited using case report forms and physical examination methods proposed by the Anatolian Group for the Assessment in Rheumatic Diseases ( ANGARD). The Moll and Wright (MW), modified Fournie (MF), modified McGonagle (m MG), Vasey and Espinoza (VE), classification of PsA (CASPAR) criteria and ASAS criteria were assessed in patients with PsA who were diagnosed based on expert opinion. Results One hundred and twenty-eight patients with PsA (58 male, 70 female, mean age 41.8 years) were included. Thirty patients were in the early PsA and 98 patients were in the late PsA groups. Diagnostic delay was 2.6 years. In the 15.6% of patients arthritis developed before the skin findings. The proportion of patients fulfilling the MW, MF, m MG, VE, CASPAR and ASAS criteria were at a ratio of 90.6%, 82.8%, 62.5%, 84.4%, 96.1% and 76.5%, respectively. In early PsA (< 12 months disease duration) the proportions were 93.4%, 83.3%, 76.7%, 76.7%, 96.7% and 66.6%, respectively. On the other hand, in late PsA the proportions were 89.8%, 82.6%, 57.1%, 86.7%, 95.9%, 79.5%, respectively. Conclusions Even though the sensitivity of Ps A classification criteria in Turkish patients changes, the CASPAR criteria seems to be more prominent among all criteria for both early and late cases with its high sensitivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To assess gender related differences in a cohort of patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA). Methods: Consecutively recruited patients were included and underwent clinical, radiological and laboratory evaluation by using standardized protocol and case report forms. Results: Women (n = 115) with PsA had higher symptom duration and body mass index (BMI), tender and swollen joint counts, disease activity score-28 joints (DAS28), Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and poorer physical activity and fatigue than men (n = 72) with PsA. Psoriasis area and severity index (PASI) were higher in male patients. However quality of life (SF36 physical and mental component scores), articular pattern, extra-articular features (including uveitis, iritis) and family history for psoriasis, spondyloarthritis (SpA) (PsA and ankylosing spondylitis [AS]) were quite similar between men and women. Conclusions: Some of the clinical and laboratory variables tend to be different between men and women with PsA. The extent of quality of life and articular pattern seem to be similar in both genders. Men with PsA are more likely to have higher PASI scores and longer duration to develop arthritis after the onset of psoriasis, while women are more likely to have higher disease activity and report more fatigue and physical activity limitations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is a common form of arthritis that may vary from asymmetric oligoarthritis to symmetric polyarthritis and spondyloarthritis. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate femoral cartilage thickness using ultrasonography in patients with PsA. METHODS: Thirty-three patients (24 female, 9 male) with a diagnosis of PsA and 31 age-, sex- and body mass index-similar healthy subjects were enrolled in this study. Demographic and clinical characteristics of the patients were recorded, including disease duration, morning stiffness and medications. The femoral cartilage thicknesses of both knees (while held in maximum flexion) were measured with a 7-12 MHz linear probe. Three mid-point measurements were taken from both knees (at the lateral condyle, intercondylar area and medial condyle). RESULTS: Cartilage thicknesses were similar between PsA patients and healthy control subjects. However, there were significant correlations between cartilage thickness and the Maastricht Ankylosing Spondylitis Enthesitis Score, Bath AS functional index and Bath AS disease activity index scores. CONCLUSION: Femoral cartilage thickness is similar between PsA patients and healthy controls. The femoral cartilage thickness in PsA patients is associated with disease activity, functional inadequacy, and enthesopathy scores. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is a chronic, inflammatory disease. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between PsA and comorbid conditions. This is the first study to investigate comorbid diseases in PsA in Turkey. Methods: This study was performed under the auspices of the Anatolian Group for the Assessment in Rheumatic Diseases (ANGARD) and involved participation by six university research hospitals. Patients diagnosed with and treated for PsA on the basis of clinical, radiological and laboratory findings and expert opinion were monitored using standardized examination methods and jointly prepared forms. Clinical status, accompanying systemic diseases and surgical history were recorded. Results: One hundred and seventy-three patients with PsA (75 male, 98 female, mean age 41.8) and 138 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) (17 male, 121 female, mean age 48.6) and 67 with psoriasis (PsO) (43 male, 24 female, mean age 36.1) were included in the study. No accompanying disease was determined in 72.8% of PsA, 50.0% of RA and 80.6% of PsO groups. In regression analysis, patients with PsA had higher risk for cataract/glaucoma surgery (odds ratio [OR] = 11.99; 95% CI 1.36-105.4, P = 0.025) compared to patients with RA, and higher risk for hypertension (HT) (OR = 4.26; 95% CI 1.27-14.23, P = 0.018) compared to the patients with PsO. Conclusion: Patients with PsA have relatively lower frequency of comorbidities like diabetes mellitus, HT and cataract/glaucoma surgery compared to the patients with RA. The increased risk for having cataract/glaucoma surgery in RA compared to PsA may be particularly attributed to the more prevalent glucocorticoid use in RA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to compare the discriminative ability of Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Score (ASDAS) with Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Activity Disease Activity Index (BASDAI) and other clinical disease activity parameters in patients with axial psoriatic arthritis (axPsA). Patients with axPsA were recruited from Erciyes Spondyloarthritis Cohort (ESPAC) and Anatolian Group for the Assessment in Rheumatic Disease (ANGARD) cohort and were assessed for BASDAI, ASDAS, BASFI (Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Functional Index), Ankylosing Spondylitis Quality of Life (ASQoL), and visual analog scale (VAS) pain. The discriminant ability of ASDAS-C-reactive protein (−CRP) and ASDAS-erythrocyte sedimentation rate (−ESR) was assessed using standardized mean differences between patients with high and low disease activity. Fifty-four patients with axPsA were included in the study. Both ASDAS scores showed good discriminative ability between high and low disease activity states. Both ASDAS versions and BASDAI had relatively high area under the curve (AUC) according to ASAS partial remission, patient and physician global assessments in receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. There was no significant difference between AUC scores for the models that compared ASDAS-CRP and ASDAS-ESR with BASDAI for each individual definition of disease activity states. ASDAS versions and BASDAI showed good similar discriminative ability between high and low disease activity as reflected by the AUC analysis in axPsA. The cutoff values for inactive disease and high disease activity were relatively similar to predefined cutoff values for AS. Further, prospective validation is now required to identify the appropriate assessment tools and cutoff values in axPsA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the socio-demographic and clinical characteristics oj patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and to examine their effects on quality of life. Material and Method: 37 patients with PsA and 30 healthy controls were included in the study. To determine disease activity, clinical [disease activity score (DAS28), Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI)] and laboratory [Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and C-reactive protein (CRP)] parameters were used. To evaluate quality of life, the Nottingham health profile (NHP) and Short form-36 (SF-36) were used. Results: The mean age of the patients was 43.9±11.2 years. The diagnostic delay time had a median of 1 year (min-max-0-18). We examined NHP. NHP scores showed that NHP pain, physical activity, tiredness and social isolation of PsA patients were higher than for control subjects. We evaluated SF-36. SF-36 scores indicated that physical function, physical role limitation, body pain, overall health, vitality and emotional role limitation were significantly decreased in PsA patients compared to control subjects. Correlation analysis was performed; Statistically significant correlations were observed between NHP scores (positive correlation) and SF-36 scores (negative correlation) with disease activity parameters (DAS-28, BASDAI, ESR and CRP). Furthermore, statistically significant correlations were observed between NHP scores (positive correlation) and SF-36 scores (negative correlation) with diagnostic delay time. Conclusion: We determined that quality of life was less in patients with PsA compared to control subjects. In addition, we have also found that disease activity and prolongation of diagnostic delay are associated with quality of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]