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Rheumatology Advance Access originally published online on November 28, 2007
Rheumatology 2008 47(3):239-248; doi:10.1093/rheumatology/kem260
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© The Author 2007. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Society for Rheumatology. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

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Rheumatoid arthritis, cardiovascular disease and physical exercise: a systematic review

G. S. Metsios1–3, A. Stavropoulos-Kalinoglou1–3, J. J. C. S. Veldhuijzen van Zanten2,4, G. J. Treharne2,5, V. F. Panoulas2, K. M. J. Douglas2, Y. Koutedakis1,3 and G. D. Kitas2

1University of Wolverhampton, School of Sport, Performing Arts and Leisure, Walsall, 2Department of Rheumatology, Dudley Group of Hospitals NHS Trust, Russells Hall Hospital, Dudley, West Midlands, UK, 3Research Institute in Physical Performance and Rehabilitation, Centre for Research and Technology Thessaly, Trikala, Greece, 4School of Sport and Exercise Sciences and 5School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, UK.

Correspondence to: G. S. Metsios, University of Wolverhampton, Walsall, West Midlands. E-mail: gm{at}wlv.ac.uk


  Abstract

This systematic review investigates the effectiveness of exercise interventions in improving disease-related characteristics in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). It also provides suggestions for exercise programmes suitable for improving the cardiovascular profile of RA patients and proposes areas for future research in the field. Six databases (Medline, Cochrane Library, CINAHL, Google Scholar, EMBASE and PEDro) were searched to identify publications from 1974 to December 2006 regarding RA and exercise interventions. The quality of the studies included was determined by using the Jadad scale. Initial searches identified 1342 articles from which 40 met the inclusion criteria. No studies were found investigating exercise interventions in relation to cardiovascular disease in RA. There is strong evidence suggesting that exercise from low to high intensity of various modes is effective in improving disease-related characteristics and functional ability in RA patients. Future studies are required to investigate the effects of exercise in improving the cardiovascular status of this patient population.

KEY WORDS: Rheumatoid arthritis, Cardiovascular disease, Dynamic exercise, Aerobic exercise, Physical activity

Submitted 6 May 2007; revised version accepted 28 August 2007.
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V. F. Panoulas, G. S. Metsios, A. V. Pace, H. John, G. J. Treharne, M. J. Banks, and G. D. Kitas
Hypertension in rheumatoid arthritis
Rheumatology, September 1, 2008; 47(9): 1286 - 1298.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


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