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Review
. 2024 May 22;11(6):161.
doi: 10.3390/jcdd11060161.

The Effects of Exercise Training on Functional Capacity and Quality of Life in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Systematic Review

Amalia Athanasiou  1 , Ourania Papazachou  1   2 , Nikoletta Rovina  3 , Serafim Nanas  1 , Stavros Dimopoulos  1   4 , Christos Kourek  1   5
Affiliations
Review

The Effects of Exercise Training on Functional Capacity and Quality of Life in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Systematic Review

Amalia Athanasiou et al. J Cardiovasc Dev Dis. .

Abstract

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease characterized by chronic inflammation. The purpose of this systematic review is to evaluate the effectiveness of exercise training on functional capacity and quality of life (QoL) in patients with RA. We performed a search in four databases, selecting clinical trials that included community or outpatient exercise training programs in patients with RA. The primary outcome was functional capacity assessed by peak VO2 or the 6 min walking test, and the secondary outcome was QoL assessed by questionnaires. Seven studies were finally included, identifying a total number of 448 patients. The results of the present systematic review show a statistically significant increase in peak VO2 after exercise training in four out of seven studies. In fact, the improvement was significantly higher in two out of these four studies compared to the controls. Six out of seven studies provided data on the patients' QoL, with five of them managing to show statistically significant improvement after exercise training, especially in pain, fatigue, vitality, and symptoms of anxiety and depression. This systematic review demonstrates the beneficial effects of exercise training on functional capacity and QoL in patients with RA.

Keywords: aerobic exercise; anaerobic exercise; peak VO2; quality of life; rheumatoid arthritis.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
PRISMA flowchart including the screening results of the systematic review.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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