Objectives In two randomised controlled trials, the Plants for Joints (PFJ) multidisciplinary lifestyle intervention reduced signs and symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), or metabolic syndrome-associated hip or knee osteoarthritis (MSOA) compared with usual care. The current study investigated long-term outcomes.Methods After completion of two 16-week trials in people with (1) RA or (2) MSOA, control groups switched to the active PFJ intervention. At the end of the intervention, all participants were followed up in a 1-year observational extension study. Primary outcomes were 28-joint Disease Activity Score (DAS28) (RA) and Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) (MSOA). Secondary outcomes included body composition, metabolic outcomes, medication changes and intervention adherence. An intention-to-treat analysis with a linear mixed model was used to analyse within-group changes.Results 65 (84%) of 77 RA participants and 49 (77%) of 64 MSOA participants completed the extension study. The effects of the PFJ intervention were replicated in the original control groups and sustained within the RA group a year after intervention completion (mean DAS28 –0.9 points; p<0.001), while in the MSOA group mean WOMAC increased towards but remained well under the starting value (–7.8 points, p<0.001). Improvements in C-reactive protein, waist circumference (RA and MSOA); low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (RA); and weight, haemoglobin A1c, blood pressure (MSOA) were also sustained. Participants had a net decrease of medication, and intervention adherence was largely sustained.Conclusions A year after the PFJ lifestyle intervention, improvements of disease activity and metabolic outcomes within RA and MSOA groups were largely sustained and related to sustained adherence, with a net decrease of medication.Trial registration numbers NL7800, NL7801.
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Low-grade inflammation and metabolic syndrome are seen in many chronic diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and osteoarthritis (OA). Lifestyle interventions which combine different non-pharmacological therapies have shown synergizing effects in improving outcomes in patients with other chronic diseases or increased risk thereof, especially cardiovascular disease. For RA and metabolic syndrome-associated OA (MSOA), whole food plant-based diets (WFPDs) have shown promising results. A WFPD, however, had not yet been combined with other lifestyle interventions for RA and OA patients. In this protocol paper, we therefore present Plants for Joints, a multidisciplinary lifestyle program, based on a WFPD, exercise, and stress management. The objective is to study the effect of this program on disease activity in patients with RA (randomized controlled trial [RCT] 1), on a risk score for developing RA in patients with anti-citrullinated protein antibody (ACPA) positive arthralgia (RCT 2) and on pain, stiffness, and function in patients with MSOA (RCT 3), all in comparison with usual care.We designed three 16-week observer-blind RCTs with a waiting-list control group for patients with RA with low to moderate disease activity (2.6 ≤ Disease Activity Score [DAS28] ≤ 5.1, RCT 1, n = 80), for patients at risk for RA, defined by ACPA-positive arthralgia (RCT 2, n = 16) and for patients with metabolic syndrome and OA in the knee and/or hip (RCT 3, n = 80). After personal counseling on diet and exercise, participants join 10 group meetings with 6-12 other patients to receive theoretical and practical training on a WFPD, exercise, and stress management, while medication remains unchanged. The waiting-list control group receives usual care, while entering the program after the RCT. Primary outcomes are: difference in mean change between intervention and control groups within 16 weeks for the DAS28 in RA patients (RCT 1), the RA-risk score for ACPA positive arthralgia patients (RCT 2), and the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index (WOMAC) score for MSOA patients (RCT 3). Continued adherence to the lifestyle program is measured in a two-year observational extension study.
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Psoriasis (Pso) is a chronic inflammatory skin disease, and up to 30% of Pso patients develop psoriatic arthritis (PsA), which can lead to irreversible joint damage. Early detection of PsA in Pso patients is crucial for timely treatment but difficult for dermatologists to implement. We, therefore, aimed to find disease-specific immune profiles, discriminating Pso from PsA patients, possibly facilitating the correct identification of Pso patients in need of referral to a rheumatology clinic. The phenotypes of peripheral blood immune cells of consecutive Pso and PsA patients were analyzed, and disease-specific immune profiles were identified via a machine learning approach. This approach resulted in a random forest classification model capable of distinguishing PsA from Pso (mean AUC = 0.95). Key PsA-classifying cell subsets selected included increased proportions ofdifferentiated CD4+CD196+CD183-CD194+ and CD4+CD196-CD183-CD194+ T-cells and reduced proportions of CD196+ and CD197+ monocytes, memory CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell subsets and CD4+ regulatory T-cells. Within PsA, joint scores showed an association with memory CD8+CD45RACD197- effector T-cells and CD197+ monocytes. To conclude, through the integration of in-depth flow cytometry and machine learning, we identified an immune cell profile discriminating PsA from Pso. This immune profile may aid in timely diagnosing PsA in Pso.
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