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. 2018 Sep;38(9):1623-1634.
doi: 10.1007/s00296-018-4010-8. Epub 2018 Mar 19.

The effect of interactive digital interventions on physical activity in people with inflammatory arthritis: a systematic review

Alison J Griffiths  1 , Claire M White  1 , Peter K Thain  1 , Lindsay M Bearne  2
Affiliations

The effect of interactive digital interventions on physical activity in people with inflammatory arthritis: a systematic review

Alison J Griffiths et al. Rheumatol Int. 2018 Sep.

Abstract

The aim of this systematic review was to evaluate the evidence from randomised controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating the effectiveness of interactive digital interventions (IDIs) for physical activity (PA) and health related quality of life (HRQoL) in people with Inflammatory Arthritis [rheumatoid arthritis (RA), juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) axial Spondyloarthritis (AS) and psoriatic arthritis (PsA)]. Seven electronic databases identified published and unpublished studies. Two reviewers conducted independent data extraction and quality assessment using the Cochrane risk of bias tool (RoB). The primary outcome was change in objective PA after the intervention; secondary outcomes included self-reported PA and HRQoL after the intervention and objective or self-reported PA at least 1 year later. Five manuscripts, reporting four RCTs (three high and one low RoB) representing 492 (459 RA, 33 JIA) participants were included. No trials studying PsA or AS met the inclusion criteria. Interventions ranged from 6 to 52 weeks and included 3-18 Behaviour Change Techniques. Due to heterogeneity of outcomes, a narrative synthesis was conducted. No trials reported any significant between group differences in objective PA at end of intervention. Only one low RoB trial found a significant between group difference in self-reported vigorous [MD Δ 0.9 days (95% CI 0.3, 1.5); p = 0.004], but not moderate, PA in people with RA but not JIA. There were no between group differences in any other secondary outcomes. There is very limited evidence for the effectiveness of IDIs on PA and HRQoL in RA and JIA and no evidence for their effectiveness in PsA or AS.

Keywords: Inflammatory arthritis; Interactive digital intervention; Juvenile idiopathic arthritis; Physical activity; Rheumatoid arthritis.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest

Author Alison Griffiths declares that she has no conflict of interest. Author Peter Thain declares that he has no conflict of interest. Author Claire White declares that she has no conflict of interest. Author Lindsay Bearne declares that she has no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors.

Disclaimer

No part of the review was copied or published previously. The results of this review were presented as a poster at the Rheumatology 2017 conference 10.1093/rheumatology/kex062.123.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flow diagram illustrating study selection
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Risk of bias summary. Review authors’ judgements for each included study
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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