ORCID Profile
0000-0002-4554-658X
Current Organisations
University of Basel
,
University of Zurich
,
University Hospital of Zurich
,
Harvard School of Public Health
,
Brigham and Women's Hospital
,
Boston University School of Public Health
Does something not look right? The information on this page has been harvested from data sources that may not be up to date. We continue to work with information providers to improve coverage and quality. To report an issue, use the Feedback Form.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 07-06-2023
DOI: 10.1007/S40520-023-02450-7
Abstract: Low magnesium and vitamin D levels negatively affect in iduals’ health. We aimed to investigate the association of magnesium status with grip strength and fatigue scores, and evaluate whether this association differs by vitamin D status among older participants undergoing geriatric rehabilitation. This is a 4-week observational study of participants aged ≥ 65 years undergoing rehabilitation. The outcomes were baseline grip strength and fatigue scores, and 4-week change from baseline in grip strength and fatigue scores. The exposures were baseline magnesium tertiles and achieved magnesium tertiles at week 4. Pre-defined subgroup analyses by vitamin D status (25[OH]D 50 nmol/l = deficient) were performed. At baseline, participants (N = 253, mean age 75.7 years, 49.4% women) in the first magnesium tertile had lower mean grip strength compared to participants in the third tertile (25.99 [95% CI 24.28–27.70] vs. 30.1 [95% CI 28.26–31.69] kg). Similar results were observed among vitamin D sufficient participants (25.54 [95% CI 22.65–28.43] kg in the first magnesium tertile vs. 30.91 [27.97–33.86] kg in the third tertile). This association was not significant among vitamin D deficient participants. At week 4, no significant associations were observed between achieved magnesium tertiles and change in grip strength, overall and by vitamin D status. For fatigue, no significant associations were observed. Among older participants undergoing rehabilitation, magnesium status may be relevant for grip strength, particularly among vitamin D sufficient in iduals. Magnesium status was not associated with fatigue, regardless of vitamin D status. Clinicaltrials.gov, NCT03422263 registered February 5, 2018.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 15-07-2020
DOI: 10.1186/S40814-020-00645-7
Abstract: Falls represent a major health problem for older adults with cognitive impairment, and the effects of exercise for fall reduction are understudied in this population. This pilot randomized controlled trial evaluated the feasibility, safety, and exploratory effectiveness of a Dalcroze eurhythmics program and a home exercise program designed for fall prevention in older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or early dementia. For this three-arm, single-blind, 12-month randomized controlled pilot trial, we recruited community-dwelling women and men age 65 years and older with MCI or early dementia through participating memory clinics in Zurich, Switzerland. Participants were randomly assigned to a Dalcroze eurhythmics group program, a simple home exercise program (SHEP), or a non-exercise control group. All participants received 800 IU of vitamin D 3 per day. The main objective of the study was to test the feasibility of recruitment and safety of the interventions. Additional outcomes included fall rate, gait performance, and cognitive function. Over 12 months, 221 older adults were contacted and 159 (72%) were screened via telephone. Following screening, 12% (19/159) met the inclusion criteria and were willing to participate. One participant withdrew at the end of the baseline visit and 18 were randomized to Dalcroze eurhythmics ( n = 7), SHEP ( n = 5), or control ( n = 6). Adherence was similarly low in the Dalcroze eurhythmics group (56%) and in the SHEP group (62% p = 0.82). Regarding safety and pilot clinical endpoints, there were no differences between groups. The MOVE for your MIND pilot study showed that recruitment of older adults with MCI or early dementia for long-term exercise interventions is challenging. While there were no safety concerns, adherence to both exercise programs was low. ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02279316 . Registered on 31 October 2014
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 11-12-2012
DOI: 10.1007/S00198-012-2231-3
Abstract: On September 29, 2011, acknowledged experts in the field of vitamin D, mainly European, were brought together in order to discuss the recent scientific advances in relation to vitamin D: the current requirements and associations with various health outcomes. In this article, the discussions resulting from the meeting are summarized. Several groups at risk for developing vitamin D insufficiency have been identified. Accordingly, reviews indicate that a significant percentage of the population worldwide have serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels below 50 nmol/l. In addition to the role of vitamin D in bone health, recent studies suggest that it may play a pivotal role in other systems, e.g., the cardiovascular system, pancreas, muscle, immune system and brain. Most evidence, however, is obtained from observational studies and yet inconclusive. To exchange and broaden knowledge on the requirements for vitamin D and its effect on various health outcomes, a workshop entitled "Vitamin D Expert Meeting: Do we get enough?", was organized. Despite low vitamin D levels worldwide, consensus on the definition of deficiency is not yet reached. In order to define cut-off points for vitamin D whilst taking into account extraskeletal health effects, randomized controlled trials in these fields are warranted. The experts do emphasize that there is evidence to suggest an important role for vitamin D in the maintenance of optimal bone health at all ages and that vitamin D supplementation, in most studies co-administered with calcium, reduces fracture risk in the senior population. To reach a serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D level of 50 nmol/l older adults aged ≥65 years are therefore recommended to meet a mean daily vitamin D intake of 20 μg (800 IU), which is best achieved with a supplement.
Publisher: BMJ
Date: 03-2022
DOI: 10.1136/RMDOPEN-2021-002170
Abstract: A EULAR taskforce was convened to develop recommendations for lifestyle behaviours in rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases (RMDs). The aim of this paper was to review the literature on the relationship between smoking and alcohol consumption with regard to RMD-specific outcomes. Two systematic reviews were conducted to identify systematic reviews and meta-analyses, published between 2013 and 2018, related to smoking and alcohol consumption in seven RMDs: osteoarthritis (OA), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), systemic lupus erythematosus, axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA), psoriatic arthritis (PsA), systemic sclerosis (SSc) and gout. Two additional systematic reviews were performed to identify original longitudinal studies on smoking and alcohol consumption and disease-specific outcomes. Nine reviews and 65 original studies on smoking as well as two reviews and 14 original studies on alcohol consumption met the inclusion criteria. While most studies were moderate oor quality, smoking was significantly associated with poorer outcomes: cardiovascular comorbidity poorer response to RA treatment higher disease activity and severity in early RA axSpA radiographic progression. Results were heterogeneous for OA while there was limited evidence for PsA, SSc and gout. Available studies on alcohol mainly focused on RA, reporting a positive association between alcohol intake and radiographic progression. Five studies assessed alcohol consumption in gout, reporting a significant association between the number and type of alcoholic beverages and the occurrence of flares. Current literature supports that smoking has a negative impact on several RMD-specific outcomes and that moderate or high alcohol consumption is associated with increased risk of flares in RA and gout.
Publisher: American Medical Association (AMA)
Date: 25-09-2020
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 11-08-2023
Publisher: Massachusetts Medical Society
Date: 05-07-2012
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2018
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 03-08-2019
DOI: 10.1007/S00198-019-05110-7
Abstract: In this prospective study, half of all falls resulted in injury. Pre-frail adults sustained more injuries, while more frail adults had injuries requiring hospitalization or fractures. Pre-frail adults fell more often when in movement compared with frail adults who fell more often when standing and in indoor public spaces. To assess prospectively how fall environment and direction are related to injury among pre-frail and frail adults. We included 200 community-dwelling adults with a prior fall (pre-frail, mean age 77 years) and 173 adults with acute hip fracture (frail, mean age 84 years 77% community-dwelling). Falls were prospectively recorded using standardized protocols in monthly intervals, including date, time, fall direction and environment, and injury. We used logistic regression to assess the odds of injury adjusting for age, body mass index (BMI), and gender. We recorded 513 falls and 331 fall-related injuries (64.5%) among the 373 participants. While the fall rate was similar between groups, pre-frail adults had more injuries (71% among pre-frail vs. 56% among frail, p = 0.0004) but a lower incidence of major injuries (9% among pre-frail vs. 27% among frail, p = 0.003). Pre-frail adults fell more often while in movement (84% among pre-frail vs. 55% among frail, p < 0.0001), and frail adults fell more often while standing (26% vs. 15% respectively, p = 0.01). The odds of injury among frail adults was increased 3.3-fold when falling sideways (OR = 3.29, 95% CI = 1.68-6.45) and 2.4-fold when falling in an indoor public space (OR = 2.35, 95% CI = 1.00-5.53), and was reduced when falling at home (OR = 0.55, 95% CI = 0.31-0.98). The odds of injury among pre-frail adults was not influenced by environment and was 53% lower when falling backwards (OR = 0.47, 95% CI = 0.26-0.82). While pre-frail adults sustain more fall-related injuries, frail adults were more likely to sustain major injuries, especially when falling sideways or outside their home.
Publisher: BMJ
Date: 06-2022
DOI: 10.1136/RMDOPEN-2021-002167
Abstract: A EULAR taskforce was convened to develop recommendations for lifestyle behaviours in rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases (RMDs). In this paper, the literature on the effect of diet on the progression of RMDs is reviewed. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses were performed of studies related to diet and disease outcomes in seven RMDs: osteoarthritis (OA), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), systemic lupus erythematosus, axial spondyloarthritis, psoriatic arthritis, systemic sclerosis and gout. In the first phase, existing relevant systematic reviews and meta-analyses, published from 2013 to 2018, were identified. In the second phase, the review was expanded to include published original studies on diet in RMDs, with no restriction on publication date. Systematic reviews or original studies were included if they assessed a dietary exposure in one of the above RMDs, and reported results regarding progression of disease (eg, pain, function, joint damage). In total, 24 systematic reviews and 150 original articles were included. Many dietary exposures have been studied (n=83), although the majority of studies addressed people with OA and RA. Most dietary exposures were assessed by relatively few studies. Exposures that have been assessed by multiple, well conducted studies (eg, OA: vitamin D, chondroitin, glucosamine RA: omega-3) were classified as moderate evidence of small effects on disease progression. The current literature suggests that there is moderate evidence for a small benefit for certain dietary components. High-level evidence of clinically meaningful effect sizes from in idual dietary exposures on outcomes in RMDs is missing.
Publisher: BMJ
Date: 08-03-2022
DOI: 10.1136/ANNRHEUMDIS-2021-222020
Abstract: A European League Against Rheumatism taskforce was convened to review the literature and develop recommendations on lifestyle behaviours for rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases (RMDs). Six lifestyle exposures (exercise, diet, weight, alcohol, smoking, work participation) and seven RMDs (osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, axial spondyloarthritis, psoriatic arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, systemic sclerosis, gout) were considered. The taskforce included health professionals in rheumatology, geriatricians, epidemiologists, public health experts, people with RMDs and exposure domain experts. Systematic reviews were conducted to gather available evidence, from which recommendations were developed. Five overarching principles and 18 specific recommendations were defined based on available evidence. The overarching principles define the importance of a healthy lifestyle, how lifestyle modifications should be implemented, and their role in relation to medical treatments. Exercise recommendations highlight the safety and benefits of exercise on pain and disability, particularly among people with osteoarthritis and axial spondyloarthritis. The diet recommendations emphasise the importance of a healthy, balanced diet for people with RMDs. People with RMDs and health professionals should work together to achieve and maintain a healthy weight. Small amounts of alcohol are unlikely to negatively affect the outcomes of people with RMDs, although people with rheumatoid arthritis and gout may be at risk of flares after moderate alcohol consumption. Smokers should be supported to quit. Work participation may have benefits on RMD outcomes and should be discussed in consultations. These recommendations cover a range of lifestyle behaviours and can guide shared decision making between people with RMDs and health professionals when developing and monitoring treatment plans.
Publisher: BMJ
Date: 03-2022
DOI: 10.1136/RMDOPEN-2021-002168
Abstract: A European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) taskforce was convened to develop recommendations for lifestyle behaviours in rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases (RMDs). This paper reviews the literature on the effects of physical exercise and body weight on disease-specific outcomes of people with RMDs. Three systematic reviews were conducted to summarise evidence related to exercise and weight in seven RMDs: osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA), psoriatic arthritis, systemic sclerosis and gout. Systematic reviews and original studies were included if they assessed exercise or weight in one of the above RMDs, and reported results regarding disease-specific outcomes (eg, pain, function, joint damage). Systematic reviews were only included if published between 2013–2018. Search strategies were implemented in the Medline, Embase, Cochrane Library of systematic reviews and CENTRAL databases. 236 articles on exercise and 181 articles on weight were included. Exercise interventions resulted in improvements in outcomes such as pain and function across all the RMDs, although the size of the effect varied by RMD and intervention. Disease activity was not influenced by exercise, other than in axSpA. Increased body weight was associated with worse outcomes for the majority of RMDs and outcomes assessed. In general, study quality was moderate for the literature on exercise and body weight in RMDs, although there was large heterogeneity between studies. The current literature supports recommending exercise and the maintenance of a healthy body weight for people with RMDs.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 30-12-2015
Publisher: The Endocrine Society
Date: 12-2013
DOI: 10.1210/JC.2013-2820
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 16-11-2022
DOI: 10.1007/S00774-022-01374-Y
Abstract: This study sought to examine the effect of vitamin D It was conducted on a subset of the VD Baseline mean ± SD age was 61 ± 4 years and serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) level was 55.1 ± 22.8 nmol/L. Baseline characteristics did not differ significantly by group. Six-month mean ± SD 25OHD levels were 138.7 ± 22.2 nmol/L (VD This study demonstrated no significant change in intramyonuclear VDR in response to either form of vitamin D vs. placebo. Type I FCSA significantly increased with VD NCT02527668.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 31-05-2022
DOI: 10.1007/S00198-022-06435-6
Abstract: We describe the collection of cohorts together with the analysis plan for an update of the fracture risk prediction tool FRAX with respect to current and novel risk factors. The resource comprises 2,138,428 participants with a follow-up of approximately 20 million person-years and 116,117 documented incident major osteoporotic fractures. The availability of the fracture risk assessment tool FRAX® has substantially enhanced the targeting of treatment to those at high risk of fracture with FRAX now incorporated into more than 100 clinical osteoporosis guidelines worldwide. The aim of this study is to determine whether the current algorithms can be further optimised with respect to current and novel risk factors. A computerised literature search was performed in PubMed from inception until May 17, 2019, to identify eligible cohorts for updating the FRAX coefficients. Additionally, we searched the abstracts of conference proceedings of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research, European Calcified Tissue Society and World Congress of Osteoporosis. Prospective cohort studies with data on baseline clinical risk factors and incident fractures were eligible. Of the 836 records retrieved, 53 were selected for full-text assessment after screening on title and abstract. Twelve cohorts were deemed eligible and of these, 4 novel cohorts were identified. These cohorts, together with 60 previously identified cohorts, will provide the resource for constructing an updated version of FRAX comprising 2,138,428 participants with a follow-up of approximately 20 million person-years and 116,117 documented incident major osteoporotic fractures. For each known and candidate risk factor, multivariate hazard functions for hip fracture, major osteoporotic fracture and death will be tested using extended Poisson regression. Sex- and/or ethnicity-specific differences in the weights of the risk factors will be investigated. After meta-analyses of the cohort-specific beta coefficients for each risk factor, models comprising 10-year probability of hip and major osteoporotic fracture, with or without femoral neck bone mineral density, will be computed. These assembled cohorts and described models will provide the framework for an updated FRAX tool enabling enhanced assessment of fracture risk (PROSPERO (CRD42021227266)).
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 05-2019
Location: United States of America
No related grants have been discovered for Heike Bischoff-Ferrari.