Anne Kerola

Helsinki University Central Hospital | HUCH · Inflammation Center

Background Gout is a crystal deposition disorder that leads to extremely painful joint inflammation. Its mandatory precursor - hyperuricaemia - is associated with musculoskeletal pain even in the absence of gout attacks.[1,2] The utilization of different types of analgesics in hyperuricaemia patients has however not been previously studied. Object...

Objectives: Rheumatic diseases may impair reproductive success and pregnancy outcomes, but systematic evaluations across diseases are lacking. We conducted a nationwide cohort study to examine the impact of rheumatic diseases on reproductive health measures, comparing the impacts with those of other immune-mediated diseases (IMDs). Methods: Out...

Background Inflammatory rheumatic diseases (IRDs) affect men and women of reproductive age. The lack of reproductive health studies on IRDs hinders making evidence-based recommendations on fertility preservation, prevention of pregnancy complications, and management of the IRDs during reproductive years. Objectives To systematically estimate the i...

Background Both hyperuricaemia and reduced kidney function are known mortality risk factors. [1-3] Also, hyperfiltration is associated with elevated mortality risk. [3] It has not yet been studied if renal function has a modifying effect on hyperuricaemia-associated mortality risk. Objectives To detect if renal function has a modifying effect on h...

Objective To establish the prevalence of hyperuricaemia in an elderly Finnish cohort and to assess its association with comorbidities and mortality. Design Prospective cohort study. Setting Good Ageing in Lahti Region study, Finland 2002–2012 (mortality data analysed until 2018). Participants 2673 participants (mean age 64 years; 47% men). Prim...

Objective To describe the prevalence of atrial fibrillation (AF) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and to evaluate the proportion of patients with AF receiving guideline-recommended anticoagulation for prevention of stroke, based on data from a large international audit. Methods The cohort was derived from the international audit SUrvey...

Background To explore long-term cardiovascular prognosis after myocardial infarction (MI) among patients with type 1 diabetes. Methods Patients with type 1 diabetes surviving 90 days after MI (n = 1508; 60% male, mean age = 62.1 years) or without any type of diabetes (n = 62,785) in Finland during 2005–2018 were retrospectively studied using multi...

Background and aims: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients are at a high risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). This implies a need for meticulous CVD risk factor recording and control. Objectives: The aim was to evaluate the international prevalence of ASCVD in RA patients and to audit the prevalence and control of CVD risk factors....

OBJECTIVE Type 1 diabetes is a risk factor for myocardial infarction (MI). We aimed to evaluate the case fatality in patients with type 1 diabetes after MI. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Consecutive patients experiencing MI with type 1 diabetes (n = 1,935; 41% female; mean age 62.5 years) and without diabetes (n = 74,671) admitted to 20 hospitals in...

Background Cardiovascular diseases (CVD’s) are the most significant comorbidities in rheumatic diseases, causing also increased mortality. [1,2] However, there is only limited data on how the risk of CV comorbidities varies between different rheumatic diseases. Objectives The aim of our study was to estimate the risk of certain CV comorbidities ac...

Objectives: To explore mortality and causes of death among Norwegian patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) compared with the general population by conducting a nationwide registry-based cohort study. Methods: Patients with RA, PsA and axSpA were identified from the Norwegian Patien...

Background Female sex has previously been associated with poorer outcomes after myocardial infarction (MI), although evidence is scarce among young patients. Aim We studied sex differences in cardiovascular outcomes after MI in young patients <55 years old. Methods Consecutive young (18–54 years) all-comer patients with out-of-hospital MI admitte...

Objective To estimate the prevalence of psoriatic arthritis (PsA), axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and the use of biologic agents in these diseases in Norway. Methods From the Norwegian Patient Registry (NPR), we identified as PsA, axSpA and RA patients ≥18 years those with ≥2 recorded episodes with diagnostic coding...

Aim: Inflammatory signals in the sacroiliac (SI) joints and the aorta of patients with axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) were graded by positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) imaging before and after treatment with sulfasalazine (SSZ) or adalimumab (ADA). Methods: Patients with axSpA, Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity...

Background Evidence on the impact of sex on prognoses after myocardial infarction (MI) among older adults is limited. We evaluated sex differences in long‐term cardiovascular outcomes after MI in older adults. Methods and Results All patients with MI ≥70 years admitted to 20 Finnish hospitals during a 10‐year period and discharged alive were studi...

Objective: To identify the patterns of healthcare resource utilization and unmet needs of persistent disease activity, pain, and physical disability in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) by cluster analysis. Method: Patients attending the Jyväskylä Central Hospital rheumatology unit, Finland, were, from 2007, prospectively enrolled in a clinical database. W...

Objectives : To evaluate nationwide incidence, sociodemographic associations and treatment penetration of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and psoriatic arthritis (PsA) in Norway. Methods : The study combined data from nationwide registries on the total Norwegian adult population (age ≥18). From the Norwegian Patient Registry, incident RA and PsA cases d...

Aim The objective was to examine the prevalence of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) and its risk factors among patients with RA with diabetes mellitus (RA-DM) and patients with RA without diabetes mellitus (RAwoDM), and to evaluate lipid and blood pressure (BP) goal attainment in RA-DM and RAwoDM in primary and secondary prevention....

Background Incidence of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in Norway has not been evaluated in a nationwide setting. Objectives To estimate the incidence of RA and real-life penetration of disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD) use in Norway. Methods The Norwegian Cardio-Rheuma register comprises pseudonymized data from nationwide registries includi...

Background Incidence estimates of PsA in Norway have varied from 6.9/100,000 person-years (pyrs) in Northern Norway to 41.3/100,000 pyrs in Central Norway, and point prevalence estimates have ranged from 1.3 to 6.9 per 1,000 adult inhabitants 1,2 , while nationwide epidemiologic data on PsA in Norway have been lacking. Objectives To estimate preva...

Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are at approximately 1.5-fold risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (CVD) compared with the general population, a phenomenon resulting from combined effects of traditional CVD risk factors and systemic inflammation. Rheumatoid synovitis and unstable atherosclerotic plaques share common inflammatory m...

Objective: To investigate the long-term outcomes of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) after myocardial infarction (MI). Methods: All-comer, real-life MI patients with RA (n = 1614, mean age 74 years) were retrospectively compared to propensity score (1:5) matched MI patients without RA (n = 8070) in a multicenter, nationwide, cohort regist...

Background Paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (pAF) is a major risk factor for ischemic stroke, but challenging to detect with routine short‐term monitoring methods. In this pilot study, we present a novel method for prolonged ECG and screening for pAF in patients with a recent embolic stroke of unknown source (ESUS). Methods Fifteen patients aged ≥ 5...

Background Atrial fibrillation (AF) frequently escapes routine stroke workup due to its unpredictable and often asymptomatic nature, leaving a significant portion of patients at high risk of recurrent stroke. Recent trials emphasized continuous electrocardiogram (ECG) monitoring in the detection of occult AF. We screened AF in patients meeting the...

Objectives: Healthcare service needs have changed with the use of effective treatment strategies. Using data from the modern era, we aimed to explore and compare health service-related direct costs in juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), psoriatic arthritis (PsA), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and axial spondyloarthritis (AxSpA). Methods: We linked a...

Objectives: Evidence of the economic burden and long-term outcomes of juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) remains scarce. Our aim was to explore healthcare costs and long-term outcomes in adult patients with JIA. Method: We identified all adult patients (≥ 18 years) with JIA who visited Jyväskylä Central Hospital rheumatology unit between May 2007...

Background Inflammatory pathways are likely the central link from axial spondyloarthritis to the known increased risk of cardiovascular morbidity. Literature on positron emission tomography imaging together with computed tomography (PET/CT) in the context of spondyloarthritis is limited. Objectives The aim was to grade the inflammatory signals in...

To assess CV mortality in early rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and the impact of RA medications on cardiovascular (CV) mortality. We identified all incident RA patients over 18 years of age diagnosed between 2000 and 2007 in Finland. Causes of death were analysed until the end of the year 2008. We used competing-risks regression models to assess the im...

Objectives: With the ameliorating prognosis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), the role of comorbidities as causes of work disability (WD) may increase. The aim of this study was to determine the contribution of psychiatric and cardiovascular (CV) comorbidities as the leading causes of long-term WD among patients with recent-onset RA. Method: Between 20...

Objectives: To evaluate the prevalence of levothyroxine-treated hypothyroidism in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients at the time of RA diagnosis in comparison to age- and sex-specific general population. Other objectives were to determine whether the risk of hypothyroidism varies by age at the onset of RA, or by sex or rheumatoid factor (RF) statu...

Only limited evidence exists on the therapeutic potential of biologic agents in the treatment of myositis. We present a brief review of the literature on off-label experiences of biologic agents in myositis, with a special interest in abatacept. Rituximab has been indicated to be beneficial and well tolerated in one large randomized controlled tria...

Objectives: To assess the prevalence of coronary heart disease (CHD) and chronic hypertension among patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) at the time of diagnosis, in comparison with age-specific and sex-specific non-RA subjects. Furthermore, the impacts of age at the onset of RA, as well as gender and the presence of rheumatoid factor (RF) on t...

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory disease which is associated with an increased cardiovascular (CV) burden. Whether the risk is already present at the time of RA diagnosis remains a key area of debate. The aim of this review was to evaluate the existence of both subclinical CV changes, including endothelial dysfunction and atheros...