BackgroundThe limited availability of prevalence data based on a representative sample of the general population, and the limited number of diseases considered in studies about co-morbidity are the critical factors in study of autoimmune diseases. This paper describes the prevalence of 12 autoimmune diseases in a representative sample of the general population in the South of Sardinia, Italy, and tests the hypothesis of an overall association among these diseases.MethodsData were obtained from 21 GPs. The sample included 25,885 people. Prevalence data were expressed with 95% Poisson C.I. The hypothesis of an overall association between autoimmune diseases was tested by evaluating the co-occurrence within individuals.ResultsPrevalence per 100,000 are: 552 rheumatoid arthritis, 124 ulcerative colitis, 15 Crohn's disease, 464 type 1 diabetes, 81 systemic lupus erythematosus, 124 celiac disease, 35 myasthenia gravis, 939 psoriasis/psoriatic arthritis, 35 systemic sclerosis, 224 multiple sclerosis, 31 Sjogren's syndrome, and 2,619 autoimmune thyroiditis . An overall association between autoimmune disorders was highlighted.ConclusionsThe comparisons with prevalence reported in current literature do not show outlier values, except possibly for a few diseases like celiac disease and myasthenia gravis. People already affected by a first autoimmune disease have a higher probability of being affected by a second autoimmune disorder. In the present study, the sample size, together with the low overall prevalence of autoimmune diseases in the population, did not allow us to examine which diseases are most frequently associated with other autoimmune diseases. However, this paper makes available an adequate control population for future clinical studies aimed at exploring the co-morbidity of specific pairs of autoimmune diseases.

The objectives of this study were to evaluate the risk of neuropathy in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) (P = 0.022; OR, 2.38; 95% CI,. In a comparison between patients with and without neuropathy (Student's ttest), the levodopa dose was higher (P < 0.0001), serum vitamin B12 levels were lower (P = 0.0102), and homocysteine levels were higher (P < 0.001) Parkinson's disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative disorder that can cause significant disability and decreases quality of life. The cardinal physical signs of the disease are distal resting

BackgroundThe purpose of the study was to evaluate in a sample of insulin-treated diabetic patients, with type 1 or type 2 diabetes, the psychometric characteristics of the Italian version of the DEPS-R scale, a diabetes-specific self-report questionnaire used to analyze disordered eating behaviors.MethodsThe study was performed on 211 consecutive insulin-treated diabetic patients attending two specialist centers. Lifetime prevalence of eating disorders (EDs) according to DSM-IV and DSM-5 criteria were assessed by means of the Module H of the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM IV Axis I Disorder and the Module H modified, according to DSM-5 criteria. The following questionnaires were administered: DEPS-R and the Eating Disorder Inventory – 3 (EDI-3). Test/retest reproducibility was assessed on a subgroup of 70 patients. The factorial structure, internal consistency, test-retest reliability and concurrent validity of DEPS-R were assessed.ResultsOverall, 21.8% of the sample met criteria for at least one DSM-5 diagnosis of ED. A “clinical risk” of ED was observed in 13.3% of the sample. Females displayed higher scores at DEPS-R, a higher percentage of at least one diagnosis of ED and a higher clinical risk for ED. A high level of reproducibility and homogeneity of the scale were revealed. A significant correlation was detected between DEPS-R and the 3 ED risk scales of EDI-3.ConclusionsThe data confirmed the overall reliability and validity of the scale. In view of the significance and implications of EDs in diabetic patients, it should be conducted a more extensive investigation of the phenomenon by means of evaluation instruments of demonstrated validity and reliability.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12888-017-1434-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

The aim of our study was to explore restless legs syndrome (RLS) frequency in multiple sclerosis (MS)-patients and establish whether RLS could be a symptom of MS. Over a period of 1 year, we consecutively enrolled 202 MS-patients and 212 healthy controls, matched for sex and age, in a case-control study. All of them filled in a structured questionnaire according to IRLSSG criteria. Those patients who fit the diagnostic criteria were subsequently examined by a neurologist to verify the effective presence of RLS. A total of 91 MS-patients (45%) responded positively to the questionnaires. The diagnosis of RLS was carried out in 29 subjects (14.4%). Among the healthy controls, a definite diagnosis of RLS was achieved only in 6 subjects (2.8%). The risk of MS patients to present RLS was significantly higher (OR.5.76 P:0.00002) than the general population. None of them was affected by other medical conditions related to RLS developing. The 62 remaining patients presented numbness and weakness of the legs not suggestive of RLS. Our findings confirm a significant correlation between MS and RLS. In our opinion, MS must be definitively included among RLS causes.

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