The relationships between adult juvenile idiopathic arthritis and employment.

OBJECTIVE: The chronicity of juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) into adulthood and attendant potential disability may adversely influence educational attainment and the ability to secure and maintain gainful employment. We undertook this study to investigate the effects of patient- and disease-specific factors on education and employment outcomes in a group of adult patients with JIA. METHODS: We performed a cross-sectional study of 103 consecutive adults attending a JIA continuity clinic, and patients who consented completed questionnaires relating to educational achievement, employment status, and functional disability (the Health Assessment Questionnaire disability index [HAQ DI]), and, for those who were employed, the rheumatoid arthritis Work Instability Scale. We used the structural equation modeling technique to study key patient and disease variables for employment in adults with JIA. RESULTS: The median age of patients was 24 years (range 17-71 years) with median disease duration of 19 years (range 7-67 years). Functional disability (the mean HAQ DI score) was significantly lower in patients who were employed (P = 0.03) and in those with oligoarticular JIA (t = 2.29, P = 0.02). Educational achievement was not influenced by JIA subtype (F = 1.18, P = 0.33). Educational achievement measured by General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) grades had a positive effect on the type of job achieved in later life (F = 11.63, P = 0.001), with greater success leading to more professional or managerial posts. In the complex structural equation model, job stability was influenced positively by educational achievement measured by GCSE grades and negatively by the HAQ DI score (t = 10.94, P = 6.36 × 10(-16) ). CONCLUSION: Educational attainment is key to successful employability and is influenced by functional disability rather than by JIA subtype. These findings have implications for choice of occupation and delivery of career advice to aid decision making by young people with JIA.

Head and neck research in plastic surgery-Ahead of the rest? An analysis of abstracts presented at British association of plastic reconstructive and aesthetic surgeons meetings.

INTRODUCTION & AIMS: Historically, the head and neck (H&N) discipline has been integral to the service a plastic surgeon provides. Recently, it has been postulated that its popularity is declining. The output of scientific meetings may indicate the popularity of each sub-speciality interest, also allowing comparison with other H&N conferences. AIM: To analyse the proportion of H&N themed, podium and poster presentations from British Association of Plastic Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons' (BAPRAS) scientific meetings and the resulting contribution to published literature. MATERIAL AND METHODS: H&N-themed abstracts were identified from finalised programmes of the biannual BAPRAS meetings between 2008 and 2015. PubMed and Google Scholar databases were searched using keywords and author names from each abstract to identify subsequent publication in a peer-reviewed journal. RESULTS: Overall, 19.3% (350/1815) of BAPRAS abstracts were H&N themed. The publication rate of H&N abstracts was 40.3% (141/350), comprising 43.0% (114/265) of podium and 31.8% (27/85) of poster presentations. H&N reconstruction and cleft and craniofacial were the most frequent topics, with facial palsy having the lowest conversion rate at 15.4%. The mean time to publication was 17.8 months. Research was published in 39 journals, with a mean impact factor of 2.151 (range = 0.772-11.541). The most popular journal was Journal of Plastic, Reconstructive & Aesthetic Surgery (JPRAS; 31.7%; 45/141). Published abstracts originated from 17 different countries. The senior author was a plastic surgeon in 77.3% of abstracts. CONCLUSIONS: From the multiple potential sub-specialties, H&N-themed abstracts consistently contributed 20% of all research presented at BAPRAS. The 40.3% publication rate exceeds the international average of scientific meetings. H&N remains a prominent field in the armamentarium of a plastic surgeon.