Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is considered the most common form of autoimmune arthritis. The disease's prevalence is around 0.5-1% worldwide, but it seems to vary among different populations. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of self-reported diagnosed RA in the general adult population in Greece. The data were derived from the Greek Health Examination Survey EMENO, a population-based survey performed between 2013 and 2016. Of the 6006 participants (response rate 72%), 5884 were eligible for this study. Prevalence estimates were calculated according to the study design. Prevalence of self-reported RA was estimated to be overall 0.5% (95% CI 0.4-0.7) being approximately three times higher in women than in men (0.7% vs 0.2%, p value = 0.004). A decrease in the prevalence of RA was observed in urban areas of the country. In contrast, higher disease rates were reported in individuals with lower socioeconomic status. Multivariable regression analysis showed that gender, age, and income were related to the occurrence of the disease. Osteoporosis and thyroid disease were the two comorbidities observed at statistically significant higher rates in individuals with self-reported RA. The prevalence of self-reported RA in Greece is similar to that reported in other European countries. Gender, age, and income are the main factors related to the disease's prevalence in Greece.

Optimal growth and development in childhood and adolescence is crucial for lifelong health and well-being

The cardiovascular (CV) disease continuum begins from a cluster of CV risk factors, proceeds with the development of asymptomatic atherosclerotic lesions and ends with the occurrence of CV events [...].

Cuffless wearable devices are currently being developed for long-term monitoring of blood pressure (BP) in patients with hypertension and in apparently healthy people. This study evaluated the feasibility and measurement stability of smartwatch-based cuffless BP monitoring in real-world conditions. Users of the first smartwatch-based cuffless BP monitor approved in Korea (Samsung Galaxy Watch) were invited to upload their data from using the device for 4 weeks post calibration. A total of 760 participants (mean age 43.7 ± 11.9, 80.3% men) provided 35,797 BP readings (average monitoring 22 ± 4 days [SD]; average readings 47 ± 42 per participant [median 36]). Each participant obtained 1.5 ± 1.3 readings/day and 19.7% of the participants obtained measurements every day. BP showed considerable variability, mainly depending on the day and time of the measurement. There was a trend towards higher BP levels on Mondays than on other days of the week and on workdays than in weekends. BP readings taken between 00:00 and 04:00 tended to be the lowest, whereas those between 12:00 and 16:00 the highest. The average pre-post calibration error for systolic BP (difference in 7-day BP before and after calibration), was 6.8 ± 5.6 mmHg, and was increased with higher systolic BP levels before calibration. Smartwatch-based cuffless BP monitoring is feasible for out-of-office monitoring in the real-world setting. The stability of BP measurement post calibration and the standardization and optimal time interval for recalibration need further investigation.

Blood pressure is not a static parameter, but rather undergoes continuous fluctuations over time, as a result of the interaction between environmental and behavioural factors on one side and intrinsic cardiovascular regulatory mechanisms on the other side. Increased blood pressure variability (BPV) may indicate an impaired cardiovascular regulation and may represent a cardiovascular risk factor itself, having been associated with increased all-cause and cardiovascular mortality, stroke, coronary artery disease, heart failure, end-stage renal disease, and dementia incidence. Nonetheless, BPV was considered only a research issue in previous hypertension management guidelines, because the available evidence on its clinical relevance presents several gaps and is based on heterogeneous studies with limited standardization of methods for BPV assessment. The aim of this position paper, with contributions from members of the European Society of Hypertension Working Group on Blood Pressure Monitoring and Cardiovascular Variability and from a number of international experts, is to summarize the available evidence in the field of BPV assessment methodology and clinical applications and to provide practical indications on how to measure and interpret BPV in research and clinical settings based on currently available data. Pending issues and clinical and methodological recommendations supported by available evidence are also reported. The information provided by this paper should contribute to a better standardization of future studies on BPV, but should also provide clinicians with some indications on how BPV can be managed based on currently available data.

The nondipping blood pressure (BP) pattern corresponds to a disruption in the circadian BP rhythm with an insufficient decrease in BP levels during nighttime sleep as observed using 24-hour ambulatory BP monitoring. Patients with nondipping BP pattern have poorer renal and cardiovascular outcomes, independent of their average 24-hour BP levels. The pathophysiology of nondipping BP is complex and involves numerous mechanisms: perturbations of (1) the circadian rhythm, (2) the autonomic nervous system, and (3) water and sodium regulation. This review provides an outline of the pathways potentially involved in the nondipping BP profile in different conditions. A recent hypothesis is also discussed involving the role of gut microbiota in the dipping/nondipping patterns, via the fecal diet-derived short chain fatty acids.

Conventional blood pressure (BP) measurement devices based on an inflatable cuff only provide a narrow view of the continuous BP profile. Cuffless BP measuring technologies could permit numerous BP readings throughout daily life and thereby considerably improve the assessment and management of hypertension. Several wearable cuffless BP devices based on pulse wave analysis (applied to a photoplethysmography or tonometry waveform) with or without use of pulse arrival time are now available on the market. The key question is: Can these devices provide accurate measurement of BP? Microsoft Research recently published a complex article describing perhaps the most important and highest resource project to date (Aurora Project) on assessing the accuracy of several pulse wave analysis and pulse wave analysis-pulse arrival time devices. The overall results from 1125 participants were clear-cut negative. The present article motivates and describes emerging cuffless BP devices and then summarizes the Aurora Project. The study methodology and findings are next discussed in the context of regulatory-cleared devices, physiology, and related studies, and the study strengths and limitations are pinpointed thereafter. Finally, the implications of the Aurora Project are briefly stated and recommendations for future work are offered to finally realize the considerable potential of cuffless BP measurement in health care.

Healthy individuals exhibit blood pressure variation over a 24-hour period with higher blood pressure during wakefulness and lower blood pressure during sleep. Loss or disruption of the blood pressure circadian rhythm has been linked to adverse health outcomes, for example, cardiovascular disease, dementia, and chronic kidney disease. However, the current diagnostic and therapeutic approaches lack sufficient attention to the circadian rhythmicity of blood pressure. Sleep patterns, hormone release, eating habits, digestion, body temperature, renal and cardiovascular function, and other important host functions as well as gut microbiota exhibit circadian rhythms, and influence circadian rhythms of blood pressure. Potential benefits of nonpharmacologic interventions such as meal timing, and pharmacologic chronotherapeutic interventions, such as the bedtime administration of antihypertensive medications, have recently been suggested in some studies. However, the mechanisms underlying circadian rhythm-mediated blood pressure regulation and the efficacy of chronotherapy in hypertension remain unclear. This review summarizes the results of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute workshop convened on October 27 to 29, 2021 to assess knowledge gaps and research opportunities in the study of circadian rhythm of blood pressure and chronotherapy for hypertension.