More than 40 percent of patients with RA are inactive

(HealthDay) -- More than 40 percent of patients with rheumatoid arthritis are inactive, with lack of motivation and lack of belief in physical activity strongly related to inactivity, according to a study published in the April issue of Arthritis Care & Research.

Jungwha Lee, Ph.D., M.P.H., of the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, and associates assessed inactivity in a cross-sectional analysis of 176 adults with RA using accelerometer monitoring. The association between modifiable risk factors and inactivity was evaluated.

The researchers found that 42 percent of patients with RA were inactive. Analyses showed that lack of motivation for physical activity (odds ratio, 2.85; adjusted attributable fraction, 53.1 percent) and lack of strong beliefs regarding physical activity (odds ratio, 2.47; adjusted attributable fraction, 49.2 percent) were the factors most strongly related to inactivity. Within the sample, these two factors accounted for almost 65 percent of excess inactivity.

"These results support the development of interventions that increase motivation for physical activity and that lead to stronger beliefs related to physical activity's benefits, and should be considered in public health initiatives to reduce the prevalence of physical inactivity in adults with RA," the authors write.