![Professor Gary Macfarlane Professor Gary Macfarlane](/img/200x200/staffpages/uploads/sme490/avatar/lNHmQ7aFXP5qvcdbhbzBeMKuX3gEeHXw3npkOzwG.jpeg)
BSc (Hons), MBChB, PhD, CStat, MD (Hons), FFPHM, DSc
Clinical Chair in Epidemiology
- About
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- Email Address
- g.j.macfarlane@abdn.ac.uk
- Office Address
- School/Department
- School of Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition
Personal Assistant- Personal Assistant
- Mrs Jisha Babu
Biography
Gary Macfarlane has held the Chair in Epidemiology (Clinical) since 2005 and previously held the same post at The University of Manchester from 1999. He is an Honorary Consultant in the Department of Public Health at NHS Grampian, Deputy Clinical Lead for Chronic Pain at NHS Research Scotland and Director of the Versus Arthritis/Medical Research Council Centre for Musculoskeletal Health and Work. He was Dean of Research Impact and Interdisciplinary Research for the period 2018-2024. He trained in Statistics/ Computing Science and then Medicine at The University of Glasgow before undertaking his PhD at The University of Bristol. He worked at the Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the European Institute of Oncology in Milan before leading a programme of chronic pain research at the Arthritis Research UK Epidemiology Unit at the University of Manchester.
He leads the Epidemiology group at the University of Aberdeen. The clinical research programme focusses on Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Diseases (RMD) and undertakes research on: mechanisms of disease onset and outcome (observational epidemiology), identifying effective management for RMDs (Clinical trials and evidence synthesis), and designing optimal delivery of care (health services research). He and his research team have particular expertise in common complex conditions (including musculoskeletal pain and fatigue, fibromyalgia, and early osteoarthritis), inflammatory conditions, and rare diseases. The programme also hosts several disease and drug registries: the British Society of Rheumatology Biologics Registers in Ankylosing Spondylitis (BSRBR-AS) and Psoriatic Arthritis (BSR-PsA) and the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy UK Antimicrobial Registry (UKAR), all of which recruit UK-wide. Professor Macfarlane is a Chartered Statistician of the Royal Statistical Society, a Fellow of the Faculty of Public Health Medicine and an Honorary fellow of the Faculty of Occupational Medicine.
Qualifications
- BSc (Hons) Statistics and Computing Science1985 - University of Glasgow
- MBChB Medicine and Surgery1990 - University of Glasgow
- PhD Epidemiology1993 - University of Bristol
The Epidemiology of Oral Cancer
- MD (Hons) Medicine (Epidemiology)2003 - University of Glasgow
- DSc Medicine2021 - University of Glasgow
- CStat Statistics1999 - Royal Statistical Society
- FFPH Public Health2009 - Faculty of Public Health
External Memberships
- Health and Safety Executive (UK) Scientific Quality Advisory Group: Member
- British Pain Society Annual Scientific Meeting Organising Committee: Member
- NHS Research Scotland Pain Network: Deputy Chair
- Versus Arthritis Fellowship Committee: Member
- British Society for Rheumatology: Research and Registers Committee
Latest Publications
Patients with Axial Spondyloarthritis Reported Willingness to Use Remote Care and Showed High Adherence to Electronic Patient-Reported Outcome Measures: An 18-Month Observational Study
Rheumatology InternationalContributions to Journals: ArticlesImpact of fatigue on work productivity and health-related job loss
Occupational MedicineContributions to Journals: ArticlesCut-Offs for Disease Activity States in Axial Spondyloarthritis With Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Score (ASDAS) Based on C-Reactive Protein and ASDAS Based on Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate: Are they interchangeable?
The Journal of rheumatology, vol. 51, no. 7, pp. 673-677Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.3899/jrheum.2023-1217
Do current methods of measuring the impact of chronic pain on work reflect the experience of working-age adults?: An integrated mixed methods systematic narrative review
Pain, vol. 165, no. 7, pp. 1472-1481Contributions to Journals: ArticlesMeeting the care priorities of people with rheumatic and musculoskeletal conditions: priorities for action
Aberdeen: University of Aberdeen. 39 pagesBooks and Reports: Other Reports
Prizes and Awards
Sir Alexander Morison Medal from the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh
Heberden Medal from the British Society for Rheumatology
- Research
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Research Overview
My major research interests are in the Epidemiology of Rheumatic and Musculoskleletal Disorders (RMD) with a particular focus on common disabling symptoms (chronic pain, and fatigue) inflammatory and non-inflammatory arthritis. I am Director of the Versus Arthritis and MRC Centre for Musculoskeletal Health and Work. I lead several nationwide drug registries. I have current live grant income over £13 million.
Research Specialisms
- Epidemiology
- Medical Statistics
- Medicine
- Environmental and Public Health
Our research specialisms are based on the Higher Education Classification of Subjects (HECoS) which is HESA open data, published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.
Research programme
You can read about the research programme I lead, including studies underway, research outputs and plain language summaries here: https://www.abdn.ac.uk/iahs/research/epidemiology/research-107.php
Collaborations
Medical Research Council/Arthritis Research UK Centre for Musculoskeletal Health and Work
Professor Macfarlane principal investigator for the Aberdeen spoke of this centre, which is based at the University of Southampton. Coordinated by the University of Southampton, the centre brings together fifteen different academic institutions across the UK, with interest and expertise in rheumatic and musculoskeletal disease, and its relation to occupation, to identify effective and cost-effective ways to minimise the adverse impacts of musculoskeletal disorders in the workplace. The work at the University of Aberdeen is focussed on investigating: media campaigns for low back pain; axial spondyloarthritis; pain management.
European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) revised guidelines for the management of fibromyalgia
Professor Macfarlane chaired an international group of clinicians, allied health professionals and scientists from 12 countries across Europe, in revising EULAR guidelines for the management of fibromyalgia. Since the original EULAR fibromyalgia guidelines, more than fifty randomised controlled trials have been published concerned with the phramcological or non-pharmacological management of the conditions. The revised guidelines were published, in 2016, in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases: http://ard.bmj.com/content/early/2016/07/04/annrheumdis-2016-209724.full
UK-RiME : UK Research in Musculoskeletal Epidemiology
The UK Research in Musculoskeletal Epidemiology (UK-RiME) partnership is a national collaboration between eight epidemiology centres in the United Kingdom including Aberdeen. The partnership seeks to develop a co-ordinated training programme facilitated by exchanges between departments at PhD, post-doctoral, NIHR academic clinical fellow, clinical fellow and international trainee levels. UK-RiME facilitates access to one another’s cohorts and share analytical expertise with each other and the UK musculoskeletal research community.
Supervision
Supervisees
- MR ROSS MACDONALD
- MS STEPHANIE LEMBKE
- MRS ALISON MACIVER
- MISS NABEEHA ATTIQUE
Funding and Grants
- 2024-29/£1.2m/Versus Arthritis. “PrIOritising early detection of KNEE osteoaRthritis – PIOKNEER
- 2022-25/£999k/ Medical Research Council and Versus Arthritis Advanced Pain Discovery Platform. High Impact Chronic Pain and UK Biobank: presentation, transitions and targets for intervention
- 2022-24/£232k/Chief Scientist’s Office/ Supporting people with musculoskeletal disorders in Scotland to remain in work: adapting the Making it Work™ intervention developed for people with inflammatory arthritis in Canada (Co-Chief Investigator)
- 2021-25/£3,179k/MRC and Versus Arthritis/Consortium Against Pain inEquality (CAPE) - The impact of adverse childhood experiences on chronic pain and responses to treatment (Investigator and Work Package Lead)
- 2021-24/£485k /MRC/ Quantifying the Impact of Work on Paid Employment (Chief Investigator)
- 2021-26/£1,250k/British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy/United Kingdom AntiMicrobial Registry (Co-chief Investigator)
- 2020-26/£2,488k/ NIHR/ NIHR Programme Grant: Development and evaluation of the Digital-My Arm Pain Programme (D-MAPP) for improving painful distal upper limb musculoskeletal disorders (Investigator)
- 2019-26/£2,300k/Medical Research Council & Versus Arthritis Centre of Excellence in Musculoskeletal Health and Work (Chief Investigator Investigator, Aberdeen)
- 2019-25/£1,138k/Versus Arthritis/Developing new models of care for people with fibromyalgia (PACFiND) (Chief Investigator)
- Teaching
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Teaching Responsibilities
Postgraduate (PhD) research students
The Epidemiology group welcomes applications in our research areas of interest.
External courses
Professor Macfarlane established a week-long Intensive Course in Applied Epidemiology (ICAE) at the University of Aberdeen. This course has been run here since 2007, having previously been run for 15 years at the University of Manchester. The course is highly rated by attendees, with attendees from Europe, Asia, the Americas and Australasia. The course is annual and starts on the first Monday in March. For further details and / or to register for the next course please see our ICAE web page.
The Epidemiology Group has also put on shorter courses at external locations including Warsaw and Bucharest and also runs courses focussed on specific clinical disciplines such as "Essentials in Epidemiology for Reproductive Health".
- Publications
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Impact of biological therapy on work outcomes in patients with axial spondyloarthritis: results from the British Society for Rheumatology Biologics Register (BSRBR-AS) and meta-analysis
Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, vol. 77, no. 11, pp. 1578-1584Contributions to Journals: ArticlesInfluence of co-morbid fibromyalgia on disease activity measures and response to tumour necrosis factor inhibitors in axial spondyloarthritis: results from a UK national register
Rheumatology, vol. 57, no. 11, pp. 1982-1990Contributions to Journals: ArticlesThe associated features of multiple somatic symptom complexes
Journal of Psychosomatic Research, vol. 112, pp. 1-8Contributions to Journals: ArticlesDevelopment of a clinical risk score for pain and function following total knee arthroplasty: results from the TRIO study
Rheumatology Advances in Practice, vol. 2, no. 2, rky021Contributions to Journals: ArticlesThe influence of smoking, age and stage at diagnosis on the survival after larynx, hypopharynx and oral cavity cancers in Europe: The ARCAGE study
International Journal of Cancer, vol. 143, no. 1, pp. 32-44Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/ijc.31294
- [OPEN ACCESS] http://aura.abdn.ac.uk/bitstream/2164/11954/1/IJC_Final_Manuscript.pdf
Association of opioid prescribing practices with chronic pain and benzodiazepine co-prescription: a primary care data linkage study
British Journal of Anaesthesia, vol. 120, no. 6, pp. 1345-1355Contributions to Journals: ArticlesRelationship between diet and ankylosing spondylitis: a systematic review
European Journal of Rheumatology, vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 45-52Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.5152/eurjrheum.2017.16103
GaPP2, a multicentre randomised controlled trial of the efficacy of gabapentin for the management of chronic pelvic pain in women: study protocol
BMJ Open, vol. 8, no. 1, e014924Contributions to Journals: ArticlesFive Potentially Modifiable Factors Predict Poor Quality of Life in Ankylosing Spondylitis: Results from the Scotland Registry for Ankylosing Spondylitis
Journal of Rheumatology, vol. 45, no. 1, pp. 62-69Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.3899/jrheum.160411
- [OPEN ACCESS] http://aura.abdn.ac.uk/bitstream/2164/10848/1/2016_0411.R4.docx
EULAR recommendations for management of fibromyalgia
Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, vol. 76, no. 12, e54Contributions to Journals: Letters- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/annrheumdis-2017-211587
- [ONLINE] View publication in Scopus
Impact of Moving From a Widespread to Multisite Pain Definition on Other Fibromyalgia Symptoms
Arthritis Care & Research, vol. 69, no. 12, pp. 1878-1886Contributions to Journals: ArticlesDefining chronic pain in epidemiological studies: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Pain, vol. 158, no. 11, pp. 2092-2107Contributions to Journals: Review articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1097/j.pain.0000000000001009
- [ONLINE] View publication in Scopus
Co-Occurrence and Characteristics of Patients With Axial Spondyloarthritis Who Meet Criteria for Fibromyalgia: Results From a UK National Register
Arthritis & Rheumatology, vol. 69, no. 11, pp. 2144-2150Contributions to Journals: ArticlesIdentification and Validation of Clinically Relevant Clusters of Severe Fatigue in Rheumatoid Arthritis
Psychosomatic Medicine, vol. 79, no. 9, pp. 1051-1058Contributions to Journals: ArticlesPersons with chronic widespread pain experience excess mortality: longitudinal results from UK Biobank and meta-analysis
Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, vol. 76, no. 11, pp. 1815-1822Contributions to Journals: ArticlesDisease Severity in Never Smokers, Ex-Smokers, and Current Smokers With Axial Spondyloarthritis: Results From the Scotland Registry for Ankylosing Spondylitis
Arthritis Care & Research, vol. 69, no. 9, pp. 1407-1413Contributions to Journals: ArticlesArm Pain Trial: Study materials
Aberdeen: University of AberdeenBooks and Reports: Other ReportsChronic pelvic pain in women of reproductive and post-reproductive age: a population-based study
European Journal of Pain, vol. 21, no. 3, pp. 445–455Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/ejp.938
- [OPEN ACCESS] http://aura.abdn.ac.uk/bitstream/2164/9306/5/EJP_A_study_of_chronic_pelvic_pain_in_adult_women_AAyorinde_Accepted.docx
- [OPEN ACCESS] http://aura.abdn.ac.uk/bitstream/2164/9306/2/Table_1_AAyorinde.doc
- [OPEN ACCESS] http://aura.abdn.ac.uk/bitstream/2164/9306/3/Table_2_AAyorinde.doc
- [OPEN ACCESS] http://aura.abdn.ac.uk/bitstream/2164/9306/1/Table_3_AAyorinde.doc
- [OPEN ACCESS] http://aura.abdn.ac.uk/bitstream/2164/9306/4/Table_S1_AAyorinde.doc
- [OPEN ACCESS] http://aura.abdn.ac.uk/bitstream/2164/9306/7/Figure_1_AAyorinde.tif
- [OPEN ACCESS] http://aura.abdn.ac.uk/bitstream/2164/9306/6/Figure_S1_AAyorinde.tif
- [ONLINE] View publication in Scopus
Biological Stress Systems, Adverse Life Events, and the Improvement of Chronic Multisite Musculoskeletal Pain Across a 6-Year Follow-Up
Journal of Pain, vol. 18, no. 2, pp. 155-165Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpain.2016.10.010
- [OPEN ACCESS] http://aura.abdn.ac.uk/bitstream/2164/9572/1/Manuscript_11_10_16_clean.doc
- [ONLINE] View publication in Scopus
EULAR revised recommendations for the management of fibromyalgia
Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, vol. 76, pp. 318-328Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/annrheumdis-2016-209724
- [OPEN ACCESS] http://aura.abdn.ac.uk/bitstream/2164/8814/4/ARD_EULAR_FM_Recommendations_Main_Document_and_Tables_.docx
- [OPEN ACCESS] http://aura.abdn.ac.uk/bitstream/2164/8814/6/ARD_EULAR_FM_recommendations_Supplementary_Text_.docx
- [OPEN ACCESS] http://aura.abdn.ac.uk/bitstream/2164/8814/5/ARD_EULAR_FM_recommendations_Supplementary_Tables_.docx
- [OPEN ACCESS] http://aura.abdn.ac.uk/bitstream/2164/8814/2/ARD_EULAR_FM_recommendations_Figure_1_.docx
- [OPEN ACCESS] http://aura.abdn.ac.uk/bitstream/2164/8814/1/ARD_EULAR_FM_recommendations_Figure_2_.pdf
Investigating generalizability of results from a randomized controlled trial of the management of chronic widespread pain: the MUSICIAN study
Pain, vol. 158, no. 1, pp. 96-102Contributions to Journals: ArticlesTreatment expectations but not preference affect outcome in a trial of CBT and exercise for pain
Canadian Journal of Pain, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 161-170Contributions to Journals: ArticlesChronic widespread bodily pain is increased among individuals with history of fracture: findings from UK Biobank
Archives of Osteoporosis, vol. 11, 1Contributions to Journals: ArticlesGenome-wide association analyses identify new susceptibility loci for oral cavity and pharyngeal cancer
Nature Genetics, vol. 48, no. 12, pp. 1544-1550Contributions to Journals: LettersIs alcohol consumption related to likelihood of reporting chronic widespread pain in people with stable consumption?: Results from UK Biobank
Pain, vol. 157, no. 11, pp. 2552-2560Contributions to Journals: ArticlesChronic physical illness in early life and risk of chronic widespread and regional pain at age 68: evidence from the 1946 British birth cohort
Pain, vol. 157, no. 10, pp. 2382-2389Contributions to Journals: ArticlesConstructs of health belief and disabling distal upper limb pain
Scandinavian Journal of Pain, vol. 13, pp. 91-97Contributions to Journals: ArticlesDifferences in the prevalence of ankylosing spondylitis in primary and secondary care: only one-third of patients are managed in rheumatology
Rheumatology, vol. 55, no. 10, pp. 1820-1825Contributions to Journals: ArticlesMost patients who reach disease remission following anti-TNF therapy continue to report fatigue: results from the British Society for Rheumatology Biologics Register for Rheumatoid Arthritis
Rheumatology, vol. 55, no. 10, pp. 1786-1790Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/rheumatology/kew241
- [OPEN ACCESS] http://aura.abdn.ac.uk/bitstream/2164/8848/1/Yagna_manuscript_1_.docx
The epidemiology of chronic pain
Pain, vol. 157, no. 10, pp. 2158-2159Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1097/j.pain.0000000000000676
Do Some Patients with Distal Upper Limb Pain Benefit More Than Others from Advice to Remain Active?
American College of Rheumatology Annual MeetingContributions to Journals: Abstracts- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/art.39977
Managing chronic widespread pain in primary care: a qualitative study of patient perspectives and implications for treatment delivery
BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders, vol. 17, pp. 1-11Contributions to Journals: ArticlesFatigue is associated with excess mortality in the general population: results from the EPIC-Norfolk study
BMC medicine , vol. 14, 122Contributions to Journals: ArticlesExamining Changes in Central and Peripheral Pain as Mediates of Fatigue Improvement: Results From the British Society for Rheumatology Biologics Register for Rheumatoid Arthritis
Arthritis Care & Research, vol. 68, no. 7, pp. 922-926Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/acr.22803
- [OPEN ACCESS] http://aura.abdn.ac.uk/bitstream/2164/8897/1/ACR_central_pain_fatigue.docx
Predicting functional disability: One year results from the Scottish Early Rheumatoid Arthritis Inception Cohort
Arthritis & Rheumatology, vol. 68, no. 7, pp. 1596-1602Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/art.39627
- [OPEN ACCESS] http://aura.abdn.ac.uk/bitstream/2164/8899/1/RA_disability_Kronisch.docx
Biological stress systems, adverse life events and the onset of chronic multisite musculoskeletal pain: a 6-year cohort study
Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, vol. 75, no. 5, pp. 847-854Contributions to Journals: ArticlesThe Maintaining Musculoskeletal Health (MAmMOTH) Study: Protocol for a randomised trial of cognitive behavioural therapy versus usual care for the prevention of chronic widespread pain
BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders, vol. 17, pp. 1-8Contributions to Journals: ArticlesPredictors of employment loss in ankylosing spondylitis: Results from the Scotland Registry For Ankylosing Spondylitis
Annual Meeting of the British-Society-for-Rheumatology, British-Health-Professionals-in-Rheumatology and the British-Society-for-Paediatric-and-Adolescent-Rheumatology (Rheumatology), pp. 75-76Contributions to Journals: Abstracts- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/rheumatology/kew132.006
Receiving preferred treatment not associated with positive outcome in a randomized trial
Annual Meeting of the British-Society-for-Rheumatology, British-Health-Professionals-in-Rheumatology and the British-Society-for-Paediatric-and-Adolescent-Rheumatology (Rheumatology), pp. i127-i127Contributions to Journals: Abstracts- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/rheumatology/kew133.014
Identifying Constructs of Health Belief and their Role in Disabling Distal Upper Limb Pain
Rheumatology, vol. 55, no. Suppl 1, pp. i159-i159Contributions to Journals: Abstracts- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/rheumatology/kew184.001
Who are we Treating with TNF Inhibition?: Results from the British Society for Rheumatology Biologics Register in Ankylosing Spondylitis (BSRBR-AS)
Annual Meeting of the British-Society-for-Rheumatology, British-Health-Professionals-in-Rheumatology and the British-Society-for-Paediatric-and-Adolescent-Rheumatology (Rheumatology), pp. 34-34Contributions to Journals: AbstractsScotland Registry for Ankylosing Spondylitis (SIRAS) – Protocol
Aberdeen: University of Aberdeen. 18 pagesBooks and Reports: Other ReportsComparison of clinical characteristics between smoking and non-smoking patients with axial spondyloarthropathy: A meta-analysis
Tenth International Congress on Spondyloarthritides, pp. 735Contributions to Journals: AbstractsIncreased smoking exposure is associated with increased disease severity in axial spondyloarthritis: Results from the British Society for Rheumatology Biologics Register for Ankylosing Spondylitis (BSRBR-AS)
Tenth International Congress on Spondyloarthritides, pp. 736Contributions to Journals: AbstractsWork instability is associated with increasing work absence and impairment in the short term: Results from the Scotland Registry for Ankylosing Spondylitis (SIRAS)
Clinical and Experimental Rheumatology, vol. 34, no. 4, pp. 735Contributions to Journals: AbstractsCommon and unique associated factors for medically unexplained chronic widespread pain and chronic fatigue
Journal of Psychosomatic Research, vol. 79, no. 6, pp. 484-491Contributions to Journals: ArticlesThe British Society for Rheumatology Biologics Registers in Ankylosing Spondylitis (BSRBR-AS) study: Protocol for a prospective cohort study of the long-term safety and quality of life outcomes of biologic treatment
BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders, vol. 16, 347Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12891-015-0805-x
- [OPEN ACCESS] http://aura.abdn.ac.uk/bitstream/2164/5246/1/s12891_015_0805_x.pdf
Chronic pelvic pain in women: an epidemiological perspective
Women's Health, vol. 11, no. 6, pp. 851-864Contributions to Journals: Literature Reviews- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.2217/whe.15.30
Can large surveys conducted on highly selected populations provide valid information on the epidemiology of common health conditions?: An analysis of UK Biobank data on musculoskeletal pain
British Journal of Pain, vol. 9, no. 4, pp. 203-212Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/2049463715569806
The Longitudinal Course of Fatigue in Rheumatoid Arthritis: Results from the Norfolk Arthritis Register
Journal of Rheumatology, vol. 42, no. 11, pp. 2059-2065Contributions to Journals: Articles