Exercise reduces sarcopenia in rheumatoid arthritis patients, reveals study

The study has been published in Clinical Rehabilitation.

The objective of the study was to investigate the effectiveness of exercise therapy in muscle mass gain in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and identify the moderators of treatment efficacy on muscle mass gain.

The study was conducted according to the guidelines recommended by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that reported the effects of exercise on muscle mass for rheumatoid arthritis were identified. The included RCTs were subject to meta-analysis and risk of bias assessment. Subgroup and random-effects meta-regression analyses were performed to identify any heterogeneity (I2) of treatment effects across studies.

The results of the study were

• Nine RCTs with a median PEDro score of 6/10 (range: 4/10–8/10).

• The weighted mean effect size for muscle mass was 0.77 (95% CI: 0.301.24; P = 0.001; I2 = 77%).

• Meta-regression analyses indicated that the disease duration significantly explained variance of treatment effects across studies (β = −0.006, R2 = 69.7%, P = 0.005).

Liao and team concluded that "Exercise therapy effectively increased muscle mass in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Treatment effects may be attenuated in those who have had rheumatoid arthritis for a relatively long time."

For further information: https://doi.org/10.1177/02692155211035539