Assessment of loneliness in patients with inflammatory arthritis.

AIM: This study aimed to explore loneliness and associated factors in Turkish patients with inflammatory arthritis. METHOD: Adult patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) (n = 58), ankylosing spondylitis (AS) (n = 53), and psoriatic arthritis (PsA) (n = 30), respectively, were included in the study. A single-item visual analog scale (VAS) for loneliness, UCLA Loneliness Scale-8 (ULS-8), Beck depression inventory (BDI), Beck anxiety inventory (BAI), revised multidimensional scale of perceived social support, Health Assessment Questionnaire-Disability Index (HAQ-DI) were used for the psychometric and functional assessments. Multiple regression models were generated for predicting the ULS-8 and HAQ-DI scores. RESULTS: There was no difference between disease groups in terms of the ULS-8 and HAQ-DI scores. Among demographic and clinical parameters, only the education status and number of drugs used had associations with the ULS-8 score. Single-item VAS score for loneliness did not predict the ULS-8 score well. There were significant correlations between the ULS-8 and HAQ-DI, depression, anxiety, social support, and physician global VAS scores. Only the education status significantly predicted (ß = -0.208) the ULS-8 score in multiple regression analysis (adjusted R2  = 0.15, P < .001). Beck depression, anxiety, and patient global VAS scores remained significant for predicting the HAQ-DI after multiple regression with the covariates ULS-8, depression, anxiety, social support, patient and physician global VAS scores, and the number of drugs used (adjusted R2  = 0.53, P < .001). Disease activity and the ULS-8 scores were not found to be associated in any disease group. CONCLUSION: Loneliness is associated with depression, anxiety, lack of social support, disability, higher number of drugs used, and lower education but not with disease activity in Turkish patients with RA, AS, and PsA. Perception and expression of loneliness vary according to the cultural background. Single-item scales for loneliness may lack reliability compared to the more comprehensive ULS-8.

Quantitative Assessment of Salivary Gland Parenchymal Vascularization Using Power Doppler Ultrasound and Superb Microvascular Imaging: A Potential Tool in the Diagnosis of Sjögren's Syndrome

Background: Primary Sjögren's syndrome is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease. Minor salivary gland biopsy is the gold standard for the diagnosis of primary Sjögren's syndrome. Superb microvascular imaging, power Doppler ultrasound, and color Doppler of the salivary glands represent non-invasive, non-irradiating modality for evaluating the vascularity of the salivary glands in the diagnosis and follow-up of primary Sjögren's syndrome. Aims: To evaluate the efficacy of superb microvascular imaging and vascularity index in salivary glands for the sonographic diagnosis of primary Sjögren's syndrome. Study Design: Prospective case-control study. Methods: Twenty participants with primary Sjögren's syndrome and 20 healthy subjects were included in the study. Both parotid glands and submandibular glands were evaluated by superb microvascular imaging, power Doppler ultrasound, and color Doppler. The diagnostic accuracy of superb microvascular imaging was compared using these techniques. Results: In the patient group, the vascularity index values of superb microvascular imaging in parotid glands and submandibular glands were 3.5±1.66, 5.06±1.94, respectively. While the same values were 1.0±0.98 and 2.44±1.34 in the control group (p≤0.001). In the patient group, the vascularity index values of power Doppler ultrasound in parotid glands and submandibular glands were 1.3±1.20 and 2.59±1.82, respectively. While the same values were 0.3±0.32 and 0.85±0.68 in the control group (p≤0.001). The superb microvascular imaging vascularity index cut-off value for the diagnosis of primary Sjögren's syndrome in parotid glands that maximizes the accuracy was 1.85 (area under the curve: 0.906; 95% confidence interval: 0.844, 0.968), and its sensitivity and specificity were 87.5% and 72.5%, respectively. While the superb microvascular imaging vascularity index cut-off value for the diagnosis of primary Sjögren's syndrome in submandibular gland that maximizes the accuracy was 3.35 (area under the curve: 0.873; 95% confidence interval: 0.800, 0.946), its sensitivity and specificity were 82.5% and 70%, respectively. Conclusion: Superb microvascular imaging with high reproducibility of the vascularity index has a higher sensitivity and specificity than the power Doppler ultrasound in the diagnosis of primary Sjögren's syndrome. It can be a noninvasive technique in the diagnosis of primary Sjögren's syndrome when used with clinical, laboratory and other imaging methods.