NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People suffering from rheumatoid arthritis
tend to walk less than other people, but their heart health would improve if
they'd spent more time walking, according to a new report.
Physical inactivity and sedentary behavior contribute to the risk of
cardiovascular disease, the authors explain in the journal Arthritis &
Rheumatism, but little is known about energy expenditure from lifestyle physical
activity in arthritis patients.
"Given the markedly increased risk of cardiovascular disease in patients with
RA, fostering prudent physical activity should be a priority in the overall plan
to reduce cardiovascular risk," Dr. Carol A. Mancuso from Weill Medical College
of Cornell University, New York and associates write.
They compared energy expenditure from exercise and lifestyle activities between
122 rheumatoid arthritis patients and 122 healthy "controls" without arthritis.
At the start of the study, similar percentages of arthritis patients and
controls met recommended thresholds for total weekly energy expenditure, the
team found, but the proportion of patients with arthritis meeting the
recommended threshold for walking (32 percent) was notably lower than controls
(48 percent).
At follow-up an average of 14 months later, the researchers report, the picture
was much the same.
"This study provides evidence that despite the fact that walking is an excellent
lifestyle activity, it is markedly underutilized in rheumatoid arthritis
patients," the authors conclude. "Our study supports the development and
implementation of interventions to foster walking as part of a program to
address cardiovascular risk in rheumatoid arthritis patients."
SOURCE: Arthritis & Rheumatism, May 2007.
