COVID-19 related infodemic is a threat to the successful COVID-19 vaccination campaigns. This might be especially apparent for patients with autoimmune diseases since there is no data available about the balance between benefits and risks of the newly developed COVID-19 vaccines in this population. We aim (i) to evaluate vaccine literacy skills in a population of patients with systemic autoimmune diseases, (ii) to examine the potential associations between vaccine literacy skills and sociodemographic characteristics and (iii) to analyze the relationships between attitudes, perceptions and beliefs about current vaccinations and vaccine literacy skills and sociodemographic characteristics. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 319 patients with systemic autoimmune diseases (92% females; 49.5% of patients in the 31–50 years age category). The vaccine literacy levels were determined using the Health Literacy about Vaccination in adulthood in Italian (HLVa-IT). Sociodemographic characteristics including gender, age, country and area of residence, civil status, socioeconomic status, educational attainment and occupational status were evaluated. The mean vaccine literacy functional and interactive-critical scores were 2.59 ± 0.74 and 3.07 ± 0.60, respectively. The vaccine literacy interactive-critical score was higher in females than in males (p = 0.048). Interactive-critical scores were associated with the area of residence, civil status and socioeconomic status, with the highest score in urban area of ≥ 100.000 inhabitants (p = 0.045), in widow patients (p = 0.023) and in patients with high socioeconomic status (p = 0.018). Significant differences were observed between the different education levels, for both the functional and the interactive-critical scores (p = 0.002 and p < 0.001, respectively), the highest score was observed in patients who completed a university degree. The level of vaccine literacy for functional and interactive-critical scales were medium. Area of residence, civil status and socioeconomic status represented determinants of vaccine literacy interactive-critical scale. Educational attainment also contributes to vaccine literacy functional scale. Insight into these factors is required to ensure an optimal vaccine literacy level in patients with autoimmune diseases.
ObjectivesThe number of susceptibility loci currently associated with vasculitis is lower than in other immune-mediated diseases due in part to small cohort sizes, a consequence of the low prevalence of vasculitides. This study aimed to identify new genetic risk loci for the main systemic vasculitides through a comprehensive analysis of their genetic overlap.MethodsGenome-wide data from 8467 patients with any of the main forms of vasculitis and 29 795 healthy controls were meta-analysed using ASSET. Pleiotropic variants were functionally annotated and linked to their target genes. Prioritised genes were queried in DrugBank to identify potentially repositionable drugs for the treatment of vasculitis.ResultsSixteen variants were independently associated with two or more vasculitides, 15 of them representing new shared risk loci. Two of these pleiotropic signals, located close toCTLA4andCPLX1, emerged as novel genetic risk loci in vasculitis. Most of these polymorphisms appeared to affect vasculitis by regulating gene expression. In this regard, for some of these common signals, potential causal genes were prioritised based on functional annotation, includingCTLA4,RNF145,IL12B,IL5,IRF1,IFNGR1,PTK2B,TRIM35,EGR2andETS2, each of which has key roles in inflammation. In addition, drug repositioning analysis showed that several drugs, including abatacept and ustekinumab, could be potentially repurposed in the management of the analysed vasculitides.ConclusionsWe identified new shared risk loci with functional impact in vasculitis and pinpointed potential causal genes, some of which could represent promising targets for the treatment of vasculitis.
Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the association between dietary sodium, potassium, and sodium:potassium ratio and clinical disease activity parameters, damage accrual, and cardiovascular disease risk factors in a population of patients with systemic lupus erythematous (SLE). Research design and study sample: A cross-sectional study including a total of 280 patients was conducted (90.4% females; mean age 46.9 ± 12.85 years). Data collection: The SLE Disease Activity Index (SLEDAI-2K) and the SDI Damage Index were used to assess disease activity and disease-related damage, respectively. A 24-hour diet recall was used to estimate dietary intake of sodium and potassium. Results: Dietary sodium intake was significantly associated with anti-dsDNA ( β = −.005; 95% CI [.002 .008]; p = .001) and complement C4 level ( β = −.002; 95% CI [−.003, .000]; p = .039). Dietary potassium intake was also significantly associated with complement C3 level ( β = −.004; 95% CI [−.007, −.001]; p = .021). Multiple logistic regression models revealed a positive association between dietary sodium intake and the risk of having hsCRP > 3 ( p = .005) and an inverse association between dietary potassium intake and the risk of having hsCRP > 3 ( p = .004). Conclusions: SLE patients with higher dietary sodium and lower dietary potassium intakes had an increased risk of higher hsCRP. Dietary sodium intake was significantly associated with anti-dsDNA and complement C4 level, while dietary potassium intake was associated with complement C3 level, supporting that dietary sodium and potassium intakes might play a key role in markers related to disease activity in SLE patients.
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