Sasha Bernatsky

..To update estimates of cancer risk in SLE relative to the general population...

..Our purpose was to develop best-practice consensus statements about the use of administrative data for rheumatic disease research and surveillance in Canada...

..The reason behind this phenomenon is unknown. Our purpose was to explore whether the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) predisposing to SLE might be protective against breast cancer (in women in the general population)...

..Individuals with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) have an increased susceptibility to certain types of cancer. Given concerns focused on this issue, we present a review of this important topic...

..To determine the population incidence of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA) in Quebec...

..To estimate the prevalence of polymyositis and dermatomyositis using population-based administrative data, the sensitivity of case ascertainment approaches and patient demographics and these parameters...

..Unfortunately, this agent is not without adverse effects. Furthermore, increasing age has been been invoked as a predictor of greater toxicity and drug discontinuation by some, but not all, investigators...

..Little information exists regarding the economic burden related to inflammatory myopathies. Our objective was to estimate health services costs in a large, unselected, population-based sample of patients with inflammatory myopathies...

..Further study of these issues in large cohorts is needed...

..Less attention has been focused on women's cancers, even though SLE affects mostly females. Our objective was to estimate the risk of breast, ovarian, and endometrial cancers in SLE, relative to the general population...

..To assess the number of live births in women whose systemic sclerosis (SSc) onset occurred during their reproductive years, and to compare this with general population rates...

..To present preliminary data on incidence of malignancy in juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), compared to general population rates...

..To evaluate factors affecting therapeutic approaches used in clinical practice for the management of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), in a multicenter cohort...

..We conducted meta-analyses of data published to date, to ascertain the over-all association between NHL and corticosteroid use, and between NHL and NSAID use...

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..The purpose of our work was to describe the phenomenon of HL in SLE...

..We performed a systematic review and synthesis of observational studies of TNF antagonists and infection risk...

..Strategies to improve the mental health of HIV-positive mothers must be implemented and evaluated; efforts to decrease the levels of stigma and discrimination in this population are of key importance...

..To examine if, in systemic lupus erythaematosus (SLE), exposure to immunosuppressive therapy (cyclophosphamide, azathioprine, methotrexate) increases cancer risk...

..Our results suggest that surveillance of some rheumatic diseases using administrative data may indeed be feasible. Our work highlights the usefulness of using multiple data sources, adjusting for the error in each...

..To assess the effects of disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) on lung cancer risk in a large rheumatoid arthritis (RA) cohort...

..To assess physician service use in a large sample of patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc), and to determine factors associated with physician use...

..Recent evidence supports an association between systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL)...

..We aimed to determine prevalence in a lupus cohort of selected factors that influence the risk of cancer, and to compare this prevalence to that of the general population...

..To assess the risk of severe infections associated with the use of traditional disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) and glucocorticoid agents in rheumatoid arthritis (RA)...

..To determine polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) prevalence using population-based administrative data, and to estimate the error associated with case ascertainment approaches when using these databases...

..For these reasons, it is important that women with SLE follow established guidelines for cervical cancer screening...

..To estimate the prevalence of overweight and obese Canadians with arthritis and to describe their use of arthritis self-management strategies, as well as explore the factors associated with not engaging in any self-management strategies...

..Our work provides an example of how research can assist stakeholder leaders in creating structured and incremental plans to improve health care delivery for persons with chronic diseases like RA...

..To estimate the prevalence of systemic sclerosis (SSc) using population-based administrative data, and to assess the sensitivity of case ascertainment approaches...

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..To assess the prevalence of abnormal cervical cancer screening (Pap tests) reported by women with SSc onset before the age of 50 yrs...

..To assess costs related to systemic sclerosis (SSc) and their determinants...

..The present study estimated prevalence, severity, and associations between SSc clinical variables and pain in all patients with SSc and in limited cutaneous (lcSSc) and diffuse cutaneous (dcSSc) subsets...

..To describe consultation with an arthritis specialist because of suspected new-onset juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA) and to determine factors associated with prompt consultation...

..The goal of this study was to identify factors associated with decreased disability and lower pain scores 6 months after a multimodal treatment program for fibromyalgia (FM)...

..We show that our model produces parameter estimates that are substantially different from the currently most popular method of ascertainment, which uses tumour registry data alone...

..To assess the construct validity of the Self-Administered Comorbidity Questionnaire (SCQ) in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)...

..Pleuritis is a common manifestation and independent predictor of mortality in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). We examined the prevalence of pleuritis and factors associated with pleuritis in a multicenter Canadian SLE cohort...

..We wished to determine whether patients suspected of having new-onset RA in Québec consulted with a rheumatologist, to document any delay in these consultations, and to determine factors associated with prompt consultation...

..To determine to what extent the observed experience of breast cancer in a combined cohort of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) could be explained by the profile of breast cancer risk factors...

..To describe disease expression and damage accrual in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and determine the influence of ethnicity and socioeconomic factors on damage accrual in a large multiethnic Canadian cohort...

..To describe treatment adherence to a multimodal integrated program for patients with fibromyalgia (FM), identify predictors of adherence to treatment recommendations, and examine the relationship between adherence and patient outcomes...

..It is recommended that persons recently diagnosed with heart failure consult with a specialist in heart failure...

..To determine the risk of tuberculosis (TB) among a cohort of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in Quebec and assess whether this risk is associated with exposure to nonbiologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs)...

..To characterize the experience of fatigue in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) using a multidimensional assessment and to delineate contributors to physical and mental dimensions of fatigue...

..The authors aim to calculate the number of live births, before and after systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) diagnosis, in women diagnosed during their reproductive years and to compare this with general population rates...

..Such patients may benefit from home care after discharge. We assessed factors associated with the receipt of home care and evaluated the risk of death within three months after discharge...

..Addressing barriers to improve adherence may maximize the benefit of treatment programs...

..Physical and occupational therapy are beneficial for persons with chronic arthritis; however, access is problematic. The goal was to examine issues related to access to these services for patients with chronic arthritis...

..To characterize sleep complaints in women with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and to identify correlates of sleep quality...

..This and other works in progress will, it is hoped, considerably advance the knowledge regarding the association between autoimmune diseases and malignancy...

..To assess arterial events in dermatomyositis (DM) and polymyositis (PM), and associated factors...

..To evaluate the association between cigarette smoking and cutaneous damage in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)...

..To assess the risk of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) associated with the use of disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) and other medications commonly used in rheumatoid arthritis (RA)...

..Multiple disease-related factors may limit the number of children born to women with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). We calculated live births in women with SLE and compared this with general population rates...

..Since DMARDs given during the early stages of RA are known to decrease damage and dysfunction, ways to increase their use and optimize care pathways for new-onset inflammatory arthritis are urgently needed...

..To determine the validity of the diagnostic algorithms for osteoporosis and fractures in administrative data...

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..To describe care partnerships between family physicians and rheumatologists...

..The association of nonadherence with duration of antimalarial exposure, while not surprising, is still an important reminder that adherence to ophthalmologic monitoring may decrease as risk for retinal toxicity is increasing...

..It can arise at any age and occurs mainly in women...

..Although high costs have been well described in adult arthritis, little is known about the economic impact of JIA. Our objective was to describe direct medical costs for children with JIA compared with controls...

..To determine the prevalence of restless legs syndrome (RLS) in women with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and to compare this to a rheumatic disease sample without SLE...

..06). These findings highlight the need for multidisciplinary interventions that target psychological distress, coping, and comorbidity in patients with FM...

..Implementation of a rapid access program or triage system may be helpful to further decrease wait times for inflammatory arthropathies...

..There is increasing concern about the influence of rheumatoid arthritis therapy on the risk for hematologic malignant neoplasms...

..MANAGEMENT: The patient promptly underwent chemotherapy, receiving three courses of 3 mg/m(2) vindesine on day 1, 1,500 mg/m(2) cyclophosphamide and 80 mg/m(2) doxorubicin on day 2, and 50 mg/m(2) prednisolone on days 1-5...

..This review focuses on recent publications regarding risk of cancer in these conditions...

..This should provide much-needed insight into the pathogenesis of the association between cancer and SLE...

..To estimate the effects of biological drugs on the risk of demyelinating events in rheumatoid arthritis (RA)...

..The increased risk with rofecoxib alongside a decreased risk with celecoxib suggests the absence of a class effect with respect to COX-II inhibitors for some types of cardiovascular morbidity...

..CONCLUSION: These data suggest good agreement between prospective and retrospective evaluations of the SLICC/ACR DI scores...

..We also provide an overview of alternative methods to control for RA disease severity in administrative database research...

..We sought to identify hospital and patient characteristics associated with receiving thromboprophylaxis after discharge and to compare the risk of short-term mortality among those who did or did not receive thromboprophylaxis...

..We investigated this phenomenon to identify demographic, clinical, and psychosocial factors associated with patient-physician discordance on physical functioning, well being, and satisfaction with the office visit...

..CONCLUSIONS: Comorbidity with other disorders, both functional and medical, was high in this sample. Medical and psychiatric comorbidity were stronger determinants of high physician use than "functional" comorbidity...

..The risk for certain types of deaths, primarily related to lupus activity (such as renal disease), has decreased over time, while the risk for deaths due to circulatory disease does not appear to have diminished...

..To determine the efficacy of a 12-week individualized home-based exercise programme on physical functioning, pain severity and psychological distress for women with fibromyalgia (FM)...

..This emphasizes the need for strategies to effectively treat lupus-specific manifestations, while minimizing side effects and comorbidities...

..To identify the determinants of medication non-adherence in women with fibromyalgia (FM)...

..The objectives of the study were: (i) to document health service utilization, and (ii) to examine whether psychological vulnerability was associated with visits to physicians and CAM providers...

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..FM also imposes important indirect costs, which were nearly 70% of the economic burden...

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..Our objective was to provide a brief report of the lung cancer cases from an SLE cohort, with respect to demographics, histology, and exposures to smoking and immunosuppressive medications...

..6 (95% CI 1.0, 2.7). CONCLUSIONS: A history of STDs and use of OCs were associated with abnormal Pap reports in this SLE sample. Immunosuppressive exposure may confer further risk to women with SLE...

..It is not yet known whether this association is mediated by genetic factors or exogenous exposures...

..Variations in these factors might explain why an elevated risk of breast cancer has not been apparent in all SLE populations...

..In view of the paucity of large-scale studies of mortality attributed to neuropsychiatric outcomes in SLE, our findings highlight the need for additional research in large SLE cohorts...

..To determine the frequency, accrual, attribution and outcome of neuropsychiatric (NP) events and impact on quality of life over 3 years in a large inception cohort of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)...

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..Although the differential diagnosis for isolated pyuria is broad, this manifestation may be correlated with lupus activity even in the absence of hematuria or proteinuria. Lupus (2010) 19, 793-796...

..Extrapolating from general population data, these individuals are likely at particular risk for cardiovascular disease and may, therefore, benefit the most from aggressive cardiovascular risk factor reduction...

..2%) compared to the general population of women (63.5%). Although not definitive, this evidence suggests that cancers in SLE are not necessarily diagnosed at earlier stages than in the general population...

..The recommendations advocated for cancer screening policies and for minimizing known risk factors for cancer in the general population should not be neglected in persons with SLE...

..CONCLUSION: Thrombovascular events occur throughout the course of lupus, with the highest risk of arterial or venous events in the first year after diagnosis, and the pattern of occurrence varying thereafter...

..In multivariate regression models, severe emotional distress was positively associated with the number of tsunami-related deaths among household members. Our data suggests a need for effective interventions in this vulnerable population...

..Our proposed project will help identify patients at highest risk for lymphoma and provide guidance regarding initiation and maintenance of therapy to control SLE. ..