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Abstract BACKGROUND: Exercise or physical activity is recommended for improving pain and functional status in people with knee or hip osteoarthritis. These are complex interventions whose effectiveness depends on one or more components that are often poorly identified. It has been suggested that health benefits may be greater with high-intensity rather than low-intensity exercise or physical activity. OBJECTIVES: To determine the benefits and harms of high- versus low-intensity physical activity or exercise programs in people

Abstract IMPORTANCE: The risk of cancer in patients with psoriasis remains a cause of special concern due to the chronic inflammatory nature of the disease, the use of immune-suppressive treatments and UV therapies, and the increased prevalence of comorbid, well-established risk factors for cancer, such as smoking and obesity, all of which may increase the risk of carcinogenesis. OBJECTIVE: To compare the overall risk of cancer, and specific cancers of interest, in patients with psoriasis

Abstract IMPORTANCE: Although patients with acute stroke are routinely evaluated for potential treatment (ie, treatability of the stroke), preventability of the presenting stroke is generally not seriously considered. OBJECTIVE: To systematically analyze stroke preventability. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: We evaluated medical records of 274 consecutive patients discharged with a diagnosis of ischemic stroke between December 2, 2010, and June 11, 2012, at the University of California Irvine Medical Center. Mean (SE) patient age was 67.2

Abstract BACKGROUND: Hypertension increases the risk of left ventricular (LV) diastolic dysfunction, and anti-hypertensive therapy may improve LV relaxation. The aim of this study was to investigate whether combining an angiotensin-receptor blocker (ARB) with either hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) or a calcium-channel blocker (CCB) improves LV relaxation in patients with hypertension and diastolic dysfunction.Methods?and?Results:Hypertensive patients who had not achieved their target blood pressure with at least 4 weeks of ARB therapy were randomly assigned to receive either

Abstract BACKGROUND: There is growing evidence that hypertensive disorders of pregnancy are associated with increased long term cardiovascular mortality in the mother. However, hypertension in pregnancy, until recently, has been largely ignored as a risk factor for future cardiovascular disease and mortality, as the link between the two is not fully understood. OBJECTIVE: To determine the association between women with hypertension in pregnancy and long term cardiovascular disease mortality. STUDY DESIGN: All women who delivered

Objective To compare hypertensive patients with and without chronic kidney disease and identify factors associated with their clinical condition and antihypertensive treatment. Method This was a cross-sectional study conducted with patients hospitalized in a general medical ward at a university hospital in the city of S?o Paulo, Brazil. Data were collected from medical records. Significance was set at p<0.05. Results Of the 386 patients studied, 59.3% presented hypertension and, of these, 37.5% presented chronic kidney

Abstract IMPORTANCE: The association between obesity and diabetic retinopathy (DR) is equivocal, possibly owing to the strong interrelation between generalized and abdominal obesity leading to a mutually confounding effect. To our knowledge, no study in Asia has investigated the independent associations of these 2 parameters with DR to date. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the associations of generalized (defined by body mass index [BMI], calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared) and abdominal

Abstract BACKGROUND: Due to the importance of coronary artery disease (CAD), continuous investigation of the risk factors (RFs) is needed. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the prevalence of RFs for CAD in cities in Rio Grande do Sul State, and compare it with that reported in a similar study conducted in the same cities in 2002. METHODS: Cross-sectional study on 1,056 healthy adults, investigating the prevalence and absolute and relative frequencies of the following RFs for CAD:

Abstract STUDY QUESTION: What is the association between potato consumption before pregnancy and the risk of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM)? METHODS: This prospective cohort study included 15?632 women from the Nurses’ Health Study II (1991-2001). They had no previous GDM or chronic diseases before pregnancy. Consumption of potatoes and other foods was assessed every four years. Incident first time GDM was ascertained from self reports of a physician diagnosis of GDM, which was previously validated