Psychiatric disorders in paediatric-onset immune-mediated inflammatory diseases: a nationwide Danish study.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the frequency of psychiatric disorders before and after onset of paediatric-onset immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (pIMID). STUDY DESIGN: In a nationwide study from 1996 to 2018, we investigated psychiatric disorders in patients with paediatric-onset inflammatory bowel diseases, autoimmune liver diseases and rheumatic diseases, using Danish national healthcare and population registers. Each case was matched with up to 10 controls from the background population. The cumulative incidence for psychiatric disorders prior to pIMID onset in patients was compared with controls. Cox proportional regression was used to estimate adjusted HRs (aHR) with a 95% CI between cases and controls after the index date. RESULTS: We included 11 208 cases (57% female) and 98 387 controls. The median age at disease onset was 12.5 years (IQR 8-15) and follow-up time 9.8 years (IQR 5-15). We found an association between psychiatric disorders before index date and a diagnosis of subsequent pIMID (OR 1.3, 95% CI 1.2 to 1.4). Notably, after index date, cases also had an increased risk (aHR 1.6, 95% CI 1.5 to 1.7) of psychiatric disorders compared with controls. This risk was increased for all groups of psychiatric disorders. Female patients had an increased risk of suicide attempt after index date (aHR 1.4, 95% CI 1.1 to 1.8). CONCLUSION: Patients with pIMID are at increased risk for a broad spectrum of psychiatric disorders both before and after onset of pIMID. The results support the need for awareness of psychiatric morbidity in this young patient group and the need for coordinated healthcare for those with comorbid states.

Opioid use frequency in early axial spondyloarthritis in Finland - a pharmacoepidemic register study.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate opioid use among incident axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) patients compared to general population. METHODS: From the national register, we identified all adult patients with axSpA (ICD-10 codes M45-46), who between 2010 and 2014 (index date, ID) were for the first time granted special reimbursement for any disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs). Three matched population controls were identified for each patient. Drug purchases were evaluated between 2009-2015, and opioid use was analyzed for one year before and after the ID. The Defined Daily Dose (DDD) was used as a tool to assess the opioid consumption before and after the biological (b) DMARD initiation. RESULTS: We identified 3577 axSpA patients and 10,573 controls. Of these patients, 97.2% started a conventional synthetic (cs) DMARD during a year after ID and 23.4% switched later to a self-injected bDMARD between the ID and 31 Dec 2015 (median follow-up 3.4 years). Opioids were purchased at least once by 29.8% and 21.7% of the patients in the years before and after the ID, respectively, compared to 8.1% and 7.8% of the controls. The proportion of opioid-using patients was greatest during the last quarter before the ID [relative risk (RR) 4.72 (95% CI 4.14 to 5.39)] compared to controls, and it remained higher [RR 2.84 (2.59 to 3.11)] also after the start of csDMARDs. DDD of opioid consumption decreased from 7.7 to 1.6/1000 inhabitants after bDMARD initiation. CONCLUSION: Considerably more axSpA patients than population controls used opioids. The opioid consumption by dose decreased clearly after bDMARD initiation.

Opioid Use among Patients with Early Inflammatory Arthritides Compared to the General Population.

OBJECTIVE: To assess to what extent the worldwide opioid epidemic affects Finnish patients with early inflammatory arthritis (IA). METHODS: From the nationwide register maintained by the Social Insurance Institution of Finland, we collected all incident adult patients with newly onset seropositive and seronegative rheumatoid arthritis (RA+ and RA-) and undifferentiated arthritis (UA) between 2010 and 2014. For each case, 3 general population (GP) controls were matched according to age, sex, and place of residence. Drug purchases between 2009 and 2015 were evaluated 1 year before and after the index date (date of IA diagnosis), further dividing this time into 3-month periods. RESULTS: A total of 12,115 patients (66% women) were identified. At least 1 opioid purchase was done by 23-27% of the patients 1 year before and 15-20% one year after the index date. Relative risk (RR) of opioid purchases compared to GP was highest during the last 3-month time period before the index date [RR 2.81 (95% CI 2.55-3.09), 3.06 (2.68-3.49), and 4.04 (3.51-4.65) for RA+, RA-, and UA, respectively] but decreased after the index date [RR 1.38 (1.23-1.58), 1.91 (1.63-2.24), and 2.51 (2.15-2.93)]. Up to 4% of the patients were longterm users both before and after the diagnosis. CONCLUSION: During 2009-15 in Finland, opioid use peaked just before the diagnosis of IA but decreased rapidly after that, suggesting effective disease control, especially in seropositive RA. Further, opioids were used to treat arthritis pain of patients with incident RA and UA less often than previously reported from other countries.

Increasing incidence and shifting profile of idiopathic inflammatory rheumatic diseases in adults during this millennium.

To explore the trends in the incidence of idiopathic inflammatory rheumatic diseases (IIRDs) after the turn of the millennium. From a nationwide register maintained by the Social Insurance Institution of Finland, we collected all adult patients with IIRDs granted a new special reimbursement for anti-rheumatic drugs between 2000 and 2014. Temporal trends in the incidences of various IIRDs were estimated in three 5-year intervals. A total of 58,405 adult patients were identified. Between 2000-2004 and 2010-2014, the age-adjusted incidence rate of IIRDs increased from 114 to 116/100000 [incidence rate ratio (IRR) 1.03 (95% CI 1.01 to 1.06)] in women and from 67 to 69/100,000 [IRR 1.10 (95% CI 1.06-1.14)] in men. The incidence of seropositive rheumatoid arthritis (RA) remained stable while that of seronegative RA decreased. For other diagnoses, the incidences either increased (unspecified arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, spondyloarthritis), remained stable (reactive arthritis), or decreased (SLE and the group of diseases with the ICD-10 code M35). The gender difference in spondyloarthritis leveled as the incidence in women increased at a higher rate than in men. Mean age at IIRD diagnosis decreased among women. The total age-adjusted incidence of IIRDs has gradually increased, due to the increase in unspecified arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, and spondyloarthritis. This, in addition to the ascending number of individuals at risk in the population, translates into a growing burden to the health care system.