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Biomedical subjects

J F Fries

Publications and source records attributed to J F Fries.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

More relevant, precise, and efficient items for assessment of physical function and disability: moving beyond the classic instruments.

OBJECTIVES: Patient reported outcomes (PROs) have become standard study endpoints. However, little attention has been given to using item improvement to advance PRO performance which could improve precision, clarity, patient relevance, and information content of "physical function/disability" items and thus the performance of resulting instruments. METHODS: The present study included 1860 physical function/disability items from 165 instruments. Item formulations were assessed by frequency of use, modified Delphi consensus, respondent judgement of clarity and importance, and item response theory (IRT). Data from 1100 rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, and normal ageing subjects, using qualitative item review, focus groups, cognitive interviews, and patient survey were used to achieve a unique item pool that was clear, reliable, sensitive to change, readily translatable, devoid of floor and ceiling limitations, contained unidimensional subdomains, and had maximal information content. RESULTS: A "present tense" time frame was used most frequently, better understood, more readily translated, and more directly estimated the latent trait of disability. Items in the "past tense" had 80-90% false negatives (p<0.001). The best items were brief, clear, and contained a single construct. Responses with four to five options were preferred by both experts and respondents. The term physical function may be preferable to the term disability because of fewer floor effects. IRT analyses of "disability" suggest four independent subdomains (mobility, dexterity, axial, and compound) with factor loadings of 0.81-0.99. CONCLUSIONS: Major improvement in performance of items and instruments is possible, and may have the effect of substantially reducing sample size requirements for clinical trials.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed2001

Aging, cumulative disability, and the compression of morbidity.

The Compression of Morbidity paradigm emphasizes reduction in cumulative disability by postponing chronic infirmity. This article describes the model, reviews data suggesting morbidity compression over time, establishes associations between health risks and subsequent disability, and describes risk reduction interventions.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed2000

Osteoarthritis: new insights. Part 2: treatment approaches.

Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis, affecting millions of people in the United States. It is a complex disease whose etiology bridges biomechanics and biochemistry. Evidence is growing for the role of systemic factors, such as genetics, diet, estrogen use, and bone density, and local biomechanical factors, such as muscle weakness, obesity, and joint laxity. These risk factors are particularly important in the weight-bearing joints, and modifying them may help prevent osteoarthritis-related pain and disability. Major advances in management to reduce pain and disability are yielding a panoply of available treatments ranging from nutriceuticals to chondrocyte transplantation, new oral anti-inflammatory medications, and health education. This article is part 2 of a two-part summary of a National Institutes of Health conference that brought together experts in osteoarthritis from diverse backgrounds and provided a multidisciplinary and comprehensive summary of recent advances in the prevention of osteoarthritis onset, progression, and disability. Part 2 focuses on treatment approaches; evidence for the efficacy of commonly used oral therapies is reviewed and information on alternative therapies, including nutriceuticals and acupuncture, is presented. Biomechanical interventions, such as exercise and bracing, and behavioral interventions directed toward enhancing self-management are reviewed. Current surgical approaches are described and probable future biotechnology-oriented approaches to treatment are suggested.

Acupuncture Therapy↗
PubMed2000

Osteoarthritis: new insights. Part 1: the disease and its risk factors.

Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis, affecting millions of people in the United States. It is a complex disease whose etiology bridges biomechanics and biochemistry. Evidence is growing for the role of systemic factors (such as genetics, dietary intake, estrogen use, and bone density) and of local biomechanical factors (such as muscle weakness, obesity, and joint laxity). These risk factors are particularly important in weight-bearing joints, and modifying them may present opportunities for prevention of osteoarthritis-related pain and disability. Major advances in management to reduce pain and disability are yielding a panoply of available treatments ranging from nutriceuticals to chondrocyte transplantation, new oral anti-inflammatory medications, and health education. This article is part 1 of a two-part summary of a National Institutes of Health conference. The conference brought together experts on osteoarthritis from diverse backgrounds and provided a multidisciplinary and comprehensive summary of recent advances in the prevention of osteoarthritis onset, progression, and disability. Part 1 focuses on a new understanding of what osteoarthritis is and on risk factors that predispose to disease occurrence. It concludes with a discussion of the impact of osteoarthritis on disability.

Age Distribution↗
PubMed2000

Compression of morbidity in the elderly.

The Compression of morbidity paradigm envisions reduction in cumulative lifetime morbidity through primary prevention by postponing the age of onset of morbidity to a greater amount than life expectancy is increased, largely by reducing the lifestyle health risks which cause morbidity and disability. Recent data document slowly improving age-specific health status for seniors, indicate that postponement of the onset of disability by at least 10 years is feasible, and prove effectiveness of some lifestyle interventions by randomized controlled trials. Human aging is increasingly represented by frailty, with declining reserve function of many organ systems, including the immune system. Enhancement of immune function in this setting raises medical, ethical, and social issues which are sometimes in conflict.

Aged↗
PubMed2000

Current treatment paradigms in rheumatoid arthritis.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has traditionally been treated using the pyramid approach, in which non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are the first-line treatment and disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) are introduced relatively late in the disease. This approach is no longer valid. Previously regarded as a benign disease, RA is now recognized as causing substantial morbidity and mortality, as do the NSAIDs used in treatment. DMARDs are more effective in controlling the pain and disability of RA than NSAIDs, and are often no more toxic. The current treatment paradigm emphasizes early, consistent use of DMARDs. A 'sawtooth' strategy of DMARD use has been proposed, in which a rising but low level of disability triggers a change in therapy. Determining the most clinically useful DMARD combinations and the optimal sequence of DMARD use requires effectiveness studies, Bayesian approaches and analyses of long-term outcomes. Such approaches will allow optimization of multiple drug therapies in RA, and should substantially improve the long-term outcome for many patients.

Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal↗
PubMed2000

Modeling therapeutic strategies in rheumatoid arthritis: use of decision analysis and Markov models.

OBJECTIVE: The management of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is controversial, with a number of different proposed treatment strategies based on different conceptions of the natural history of the disease and different interpretations of the efficacy and effectiveness of the drugs used for treatment. We attempted to develop a theoretical framework to assess the effectiveness of different treatment regimens for RA. METHODS: We used decision analysis to structure the problem of comparing sequential monotherapy to a combination strategy. Subsequently, we used 3 different estimates of drug effectiveness: one from expert rheumatologists; a metaanalysis; and a recent nationwide survey of American rheumatologists, in a Markov model. Last, we utilized published duration of therapy data to model drug treatment over time. RESULTS: Estimates of drug effectiveness differed substantially among rheumatologists, but regardless of the estimates and the treatment strategy used, the model predicted over 90% of patients improved by the 3rd drug trial. Over time, treatment patterns in our model resemble the "sawtooth" pattern previously observed. CONCLUSION: Treatment strategies in RA are difficult to model because of uncertainty in both the structure of the model and the data needed to perform the analysis. These models tend to overestimate the effectiveness of drug sequences because of nonindependence between therapies, probably due to sequence effects, a change in responsiveness over time, or resistant subgroups. Our preliminary analysis suggests that the most effective agent, possibly methotrexate, should be used first if the objective is to get as many patients into remission as quickly as possible.

Arthritis, Rheumatoid↗
PubMed2000

Factors influencing length of time taking methotrexate in rheumatoid arthritis.

OBJECTIVE: Duration of therapy has been suggested to represent a measure of effectiveness. Life table analyses of therapy with methotrexate (MTX) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have indicated a longer duration than with other drugs. However, individual patients continue taking MTX for different periods of time. We assessed the influence of patient variables at treatment onset upon subsequent duration of MTX therapy. METHODS: Patients with RA (n = 437) from 8 North American databank centers beginning MTX therapy after January 1, 1988, were followed prospectively. Age at onset of MTX treatment, sex, years of education, age at onset of disease, years with disease, number of comorbid conditions, number of disease modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARD) and nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAID) taken just prior to MTX. disability level, pain, and global assessment prior to starting MTX were used in univariate Kaplan-Meier analyses to predict number of months taking MTX alone. An index that divided the patients into risk strata for predicting duration of therapy was constructed to be clinically useful. RESULTS: The median number of months continuing MTX without addition of other DMARD was 41 months and the median for the total course taking MTX was 52 months. The retention rate was lowest for patients with the most negative initial health state. High level of initial pain, long duration of disease, and not using a DMARD just prior to MTX were associated with low retention rate and can be used to predict expected durations of MTX treatment ranging from 17 to 52 months. For practical guidance in clinical decisions an index was computed based on the predictor variables: level of initial pain, duration of disease, and number of DMARD; this index identifies subgroups with very different durations taking MTX alone. Disease duration at baseline was strongly related to time taking MTX alone and could therefore also be used as a simplified rule in clinical work. CONCLUSION: Expected duration of MTX treatment is influenced by clinical variables, and these may suggest those patients likely to have more or less satisfactory experiences with MTX. The time taking drug alone (therapeutic segment) may be a more logical and sensitive indicator of effectiveness than the total course on the medication.

Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal↗
PubMed1999

How may quality of life for rheumatoid arthritis patients be enhanced by current and future treatments?

Health-related quality of life is best thought of simply as 'health'. Life quality in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is affected, for good or ill, by treatment effects. Health status now is readily and validly measurable, using the Health Assessment Questionnaire or other instruments. Disability and pain are reduced by disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) much more than by non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). Toxicity considerations vary among individual drugs but are roughly comparable between NSAIDs and DMARDs, mandating DMARD-based treatment strategies. Future therapies must accentuate the positives (reduction in pain and disability) while reducing the negatives (unwanted effects) if the health of RA patients is to be improved.

Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal↗
PubMed1998

Aging, health risks, and cumulative disability.

BACKGROUND: Persons with lower health risks tend to live longer than those with higher health risks, but there has been concern that greater longevity may bring with it greater disability. We performed a longitudinal study to determine whether persons with lower potentially modifiable health risks have more or less cumulative disability. METHODS: We studied 1741 university alumni who were surveyed first in 1962 (average age, 43 years) and then annually starting in 1986. Strata of high, moderate, and low risk were defined on the basis of smoking, body-mass index, and exercise patterns. Cumulative disability was determined with a health-assessment questionnaire and scored on a scale of 0 to 3. Cumulative disability from 1986 to 1994 (average age in 1994, 75 years) or death was the measure of lifetime disability. RESULTS: Persons with high health risks in 1962 or 1986 had twice the cumulative disability of those with low health risks (disability index, 1.02 vs. 0.49; P<0.001). The results were consistent among survivors, subjects who died, men, and women and for both the last year and the last two years of observation. The onset of disability was postponed by more than five years in the low-risk group as compared with the high-risk group. The disability index for the low-risk subjects who died was half that for the high-risk subjects in the last one or two years of observation. CONCLUSIONS: Smoking, body-mass index, and exercise patterns in midlife and late adulthood are predictors of subsequent disability. Not only do persons with better health habits survive longer, but in such persons, disability is postponed and compressed into fewer years at the end of life.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1998

Quality-of-life considerations with respect to arthritis and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.

This article first presents a hierarchical general quality-of-life framework, beginning with global "outcome" and progressing through dimensions, subdimensions, components, and finally to specific variables. Second, the Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) is described as an example of a set of instruments designed to assess such a framework. A simple visual analog scale, which was incorporated into the HAQ in 1980 and which ranks the status of health from "very poor" to "very well," has been shown to correlate strongly with traditional quality-of-life instruments, such as the Torrance "Feeling Thermometer." Finally, the requirement for a side-effect index to assess quality of life related to different drug therapies is discussed. Comparative drug adverse event profiles are highlighted, a side-effect index presented, and some preliminary results and conclusions outlined. With drugs used for the treatment of rheumatic diseases, adverse events have been shown to vary widely. Indeed, the differences in side-effects are often 2-3-fold between drugs of the same class. Furthermore, the incidence of adverse events related to the use of many nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs has been shown to be greater than that seen with a number of disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs.

Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal↗
PubMed1998

The relationship of running to osteoarthritis of the knee and hip and bone mineral density of the lumbar spine: a 9 year longitudinal study.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the associations between running and radiographic hip osteoarthritis (OA), the progression of radiographic knee OA, and changes in bone mineral density (BMD) after 9 year followup in 28 members of a running club now aged 60-77 years and 27 nonrunner controls. METHODS: Running subjects and nonrunning controls were matched for age (+/- 2 years), years of education, and occupation. All subjects underwent rheumatologic examination, completed annual questionnaires, and had radiographs taken of the knees in 1984, 1986, 1989, and 1993 and of the hips in 1993. BMD of the first lumbar spine vertebrae was obtained in 36 subjects by quantitative computed tomography (QCT) in 1984, 1986, 1989, and 1993. In 1993, knee radiographs were assessed in pairs (1984 and 1993), and hip radiographs were scored by 2 readers individually without knowledge of running status. RESULTS: Nine year radiographic results for both runners and nonrunners for the knees showed significant within-group progression of both osteophytes and total knee radiographic scores (p = 0.01 for runners and p = 0.05 for nonrunners) and joint space narrowing in nonrunners (p = 0.01). Runners tended to have higher radiographic scores, but no significant differences in between-group differences were seen in 1984 or 1993. Radiographic OA of the hip was not different between the groups. QCT of the first lumbar vertebrae for BMD in 1984, 1986, 1989, and 1993 was greater in runners than nonrunners (p = 0.01), but rates of change in QCT values were similar between the 2 groups (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The presence of radiographic hip OA and the progression of radiographic knee OA was similar for older runners and nonrunners. Lumbar spine BMD remained higher in runners, but changes in lumbar BMD were similar for runners and nonrunners over a 9 year period.

Aged↗