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F Cicuttini

Publications and source records attributed to F Cicuttini.

25 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed2000

Community-based recruitment strategies for a longitudinal interventional study: the VECAT experience.

This article examines different recruitment strategies for the VECAT Study, a 4-year, double-masked, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial of vitamin E in the prevention of cataract and age-related maculopathy. Five recruitment methods were employed: newspaper advertising, radio advertising, approaches to community groups, approaches via general practices, and an electoral roll mail-out. Participants (1204) from the community in Melbourne, Australia were recruited and enrolled within 15 months (age range: 55-80 years, mean 66 years; gender ratio: 57% female, 43% male). The electoral roll mail-out and newspaper advertising were the most efficient methods of recruitment in terms of absolute numbers of participants recruited and cost per participant. Recruitment for the VECAT study was successfully completed within the planned period. Although the electoral roll mail-out and newspaper advertising were the most efficient for this study, other methods may be of value for studies with different subject selection criteria.

Aged↗
PubMed1999

Gender differences in knee cartilage volume as measured by magnetic resonance imaging.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to analyze sex differences in knee cartilage volume. METHODS: Articulate cartilage volumes were determined by processing images acquired in the sagittal plane using T1-weighted fat saturation magnetic resonance on an independent work station. The knees of 28 subjects (17 male, 11 female) who underwent MRI for clinical indications (pain <3 months) but who had a normal X-ray and structurally normal MRI were examined. RESULTS: Males had significantly larger cartilage volumes than females, with difference in cartilage volume remaining statistically significant after adjusting for age, height, weight and bone volume. The differences for males relative to females were: femoral cartilage volume [4.1 ml 95% CI (2.0, 6.1)]; and patella cartilage volume [1.4 ml (0.2, 2.7)]. Although not statistically significant, the tibial cartilage volume also showed these sex differences. Exploratory analysis indicated an increasing gender difference with increasing age for patellar cartilage volume. CONCLUSION: Men have significantly larger knee cartilage volume than women, independent of body and bone size. The mechanisms for this will need to be determined.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Genetic influences on osteoarthritis in women: a twin study.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the relative contribution of genetic and environmental factors to common forms of osteoarthritis of the hands and knees. DESIGN: Classic twin study with unselected twins who were screened radiologically for osteoarthritis. SUBJECTS: 130 identical and 120 non-identical female twins aged 48-70 recruited from a London based twin register and through a national media campaign. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Similarity in identical compared with non-identical twin pairs for radiographic changes at the interphalangeal and first carpometacarpal joints of the hands and the tibiofemoral joint and patellofemoral joint of the knee expressed as intraclass correlations. RESULTS: The intraclass correlations of radiographic osteophytes and narrowing at most sites and the presence of Heberden's nodes and knee pain were higher in the identical pairs. The intraclass correlation of the total radiographic osteoarthritis score in identical pairs (rMZ) was 0.64 (SE 0.05) compared with 0.38 (0.08) in non-identical pairs. The proportion of genetic variance of total osteoarthritis score (osteophytes and narrowing) with modelling techniques was estimated at 0.54 (95% confidence interval 0.43 to 0.65) and ranged from 0.39 to 0.65 for different sites and features (p < 0.001) after adjustment for age and weight. CONCLUSIONS: These results demonstrate for the first time a clear genetic effect for radiographic osteoarthritis of the hand and knee in women, with a genetic influence ranging from 39-65%, independent of known environmental or demographic confounders. The results of this study should lead to further work on isolating the gene or genes involved in the pathogenesis of the common disabling disease.

Aged↗
PubMed1996

Generalized osteoarthritis in women: pattern of joint involvement and approaches to definition for epidemiological studies.

OBJECTIVE: To ascertain whether clustering between joint sites in osteoarthritis (OA) is more common than would be expected simply from the rising prevalence of the disorder with age, and to explore a definition of generalized OA (GOA) by determining the pattern of joint group involvement, in a population sample of peri and postmenopausal women. METHODS: Radiographs of the hands, knees, and hips were obtained in a population sample of 702 women aged 45 to 64 years. Distal interphalangeal, proximal interphalangeal, carpometacarpal, knee, and hip OA were assessed using the Kellgren-Lawrence grading system. Logistic regression was used to test for overall clustering of OA between joint sites, and log linear models were used to study the patterns of association between different sites. RESULTS: Multiple involvement of the 5 joint groups studied occurred significantly more frequently than could be expected by chance alone (chi 2 = 52.3, df = 5, p < 0.001), and this clustering remained significant after age adjustment (chi 2 = 26.1, df = 5, p < 0.001). Thresholds could be defined for the number of involved joint groups that distinguished a polyarticular subset of OA. These thresholds varied with age and the radiographic cutoff at which OA was assigned. Thus, for grade 2+ disease, GOA could be defined by involvement of 2 or more joint groups at age 45-47 years, but required involvement of all 5 joint groups at age 60-64 years. Symmetry within joint groups was the most pronounced feature in the pattern of joint involvement in the sample as a whole, with associations between different joint groups being substantially weaker than those for symmetrical bilateral involvement of a particular joint. CONCLUSION: There is a clear tendency towards polyarticular OA among women aged 45-64 years. However, there is no single threshold number of joint sites that can be used to define GOA. The pattern of joint involvement in OA is primarily symmetrical, and this pattern strongly suggests a systemic etiology in this subset of postmenopausal women.

Arthrography↗
PubMed1989

Female adolescent rheumatological presentations: the importance of chronic pain syndromes.

The clinical features of 60 female adolescents (mean age 15 +/- 0.3 years) presenting consecutively to a rheumatologist are reviewed. Thirty-five per cent met criteria for well-defined chronic pain syndromes, 19 having fibrositis syndrome and two having a reflex sympathetic dystrophy syndrome. Other diagnoses were inflammatory arthritis (30%), anterior knee pain syndromes (13.3%), tendinitis (8.3%) and miscellaneous conditions (13.3%). The high prevalence of chronic pain syndromes in this patient group is highlighted and an approach to management is suggested.

Adolescent↗