A common case scenario in our practice in North Dakota is a woman with rheumatoid arthritis on methotrexate monotherapy. She is a member of the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate people and lives 90 miles from our rheumatology clinic. She currently has moderate disease activity, indicating the need for additional treatment. She does not have her own…
How do healthcare providers enable positive outcomes for their pediatric patients while also addressing the disparities in care between patients of different ethnicities, gender and socioeconomic backgrounds? Experts addressed how changes in research and clinical care can improve outcomes for children experiencing healthcare disparities during a session at the 2023 Pediatric Rheumatology Symposium.
Racial Disparities in Lupus Clinical Trial Participation By Saira Z. Sheikh, MD Why was this study done? Lupus disproportionately affects Black and Latino populations, particularly women in childbearing years. Clinical trials of patients with lupus can advance the development of therapeutics and access to better treatments, as well as improve health outcomes for patients. However,…
MoCA as a Screening Test in SLE Assessing the utility of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) By Oshrat E. Tayer-Shifman, MD, Kimberley Yuen, BSc, MD, & Zahi Touma, MD, PhD, FACP, FACR Why was this study done? Cognitive impairment is a common manifestation of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), with a prevalence of 40% based on…
“I tell everyone who comes into her room now, ‘You will not disrespect my daughter again. No one will,’” recounts Sarah’s mother. “Every time a [provider] acts rude to her, Sarah tells me, ‘Ma, I’m used to it now,’ and I have to insist ‘No! Baby, you should never get used to that.’ … Dr….
1) Obesity & Treatment Response in RA Obesity & response to advanced therapies in rheumatoid arthritis Why was this study done? There have been questions regarding whether certain therapies for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are less effective in patients with obesity, particularly for tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors, because adipose tissue is known to generate TNF,…
Rheumatologists can do better at helping systemic lupus erythematosus patients from racial and ethnic minority groups adhere to their lupus medication regimens, according to a paper published in Arthritis Care & Research. Researchers from Duke University examined medication adherence barriers from the perspectives of healthcare providers and patients. Their findings suggest more attention should be…
Researchers shared findings on the immune response to COVID-19 vaccination in immunocompromised patients, insights into cognitive impairment in SLE & more.
The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated wide disparities that exist in the U.S. healthcare system. During the pandemic, the clinical practice in the Section of Rheumatology, Allergy & Immunology at Yale School of Medicine (YSM), New Haven, Conn., rapidly pivoted from face-to-face visits to telehealth to keep our patients and providers safe. Many patients quickly adapted and…
Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) has a higher life impact on women than men, suggesting the need to include life impact as part of the treat-to-target strategy for PsA. This is the finding of a recently published study by Orbai et al., which found female sex independently linked to high PsA life impact.1 The Study The study…