Although more common in women, SSc appears as strikingly more severe in men. Our results obtained through the largest worldwide database demonstrate a higher risk of severe cardiovascular involvement in men. These results raise the point of including sex in the management and the decision-making process.

Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is a chronic inflammatory disorder that belongs to the group of spondyloarthritis (SpA). It was found that single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of endoplasmic reticulum aminopeptidase (ERAP1 and ERAP2) genes influence the risk of ankylosing spondylitis, the most common form of SpA and the risk of psoriasis. Our purpose was to investigate the possible association of ERAP1 and ERAP2 gene SNPs with psoriatic arthritis susceptibility in Romanian population. Subsequent analyses included patients' subgroups according to HLA-B27 status. Psoriatic arthritis patients (N = 98) and random healthy controls (N = 139) were genotyped for ERAP1/2 genes SNPs rs30187, rs27044, rs2910686, and rs2248374 by TaqMan Allelic Discrimination Assays. An additional control group (N = 108; 100% HLA-B27 positive) was used for subsequent analyses. The results showed the association of rs2248374 SNP of ERAP2 gene with the risk of PsA, especially for HLA-B27 negative disease (p = 0.02; OR 1.59). ERAP2 haplotype GT (rs2248374/rs2910686) was significantly under-represented in PsA patients than in controls (43 vs. 55%; p = 0.02). The analysis of ERAP1 SNPs in HLA-B27 positive controls and PsA subgroup showed strong evidence of association for rs30187 (p = 0.005; OR 2.73) and for CC rs30187/rs27044 haplotype (47% in patients vs. 70.5% in controls; p = 0.006). In conclusion, we found a significant association of ERAP2 with PsA and HLA-B27 negative PsA, while ERAP1 association was restricted only to HLA-B27 positive disease. To our knowledge, this is the first study that investigated ERAP2 polymorphisms in relation to PsA susceptibility.

Background. Shared decision making (SDM) is becoming more and more important for the patient-physician interaction. There has not been a study in Romania evaluating patients’ point of view in the SDM process yet. Therefore, the present study aims to evaluate the psychometric parameters of the translated Romanian version of SDM-Q-9. Material and methods. A multicentric cross-sectional study was performed comprising eight recruitment centers. The sample consisted of in- and outpatients who referred to Hospital Units for treatment for atrial fibrillation or collagen diseases. Furthermore, patients who were members of Autoimmune Disease Patient Society were able to participate via an online survey. All participants completed the Romanian translated SDM-Q-9. Results. Altogether, 665 questionnaires were filled in within the hospital setting (n = 324; 48.7%) and online (n = 341; 51.3%). The Romanian version had good internal consistency (Cronbach α coefficient of 0.96.) Corrected item correlations were good ranging from 0.64 to 0.89 with low corrected item correlations for item 1 and item 7. PCA found a one-factorial solution (similar with previous reports) but the first item had the lowest loading. Conclusion. SDM-Q-9 is a useful tool for evaluation and improvement in health care that was validated in Romania and can be used in clinical setting in this country.

Test-retest results of 4 out of 5 global measures were good, and the correlations between these were moderate. The latter probably reflect differences in the concepts, recall periods, and references used in the measures, which implies that some measures are probably not interchangeable.