Changes in hand grip strength and body weight after a dynamic exercise program and Mediterranean diet in women with rheumatoid arthritis: a randomized clinical trial.

GRIP strength; MEDITERRANEAN diet; EXERCISE tests; KRUSKAL-Wallis Test; STATISTICAL significance; STATISTICS; BODY weight; HUMAN research subjects; SAMPLE size (Statistics); MUSCLE contraction; ANTHROPOMETRY; ONE-way analysis of variance; EXERCISE physiology; TERTIARY care; VISUAL analog scale; HEALTH outcome assessment; MANN Whitney U Test; RANDOMIZED controlled trials; INFORMED consent (Medical law); COMPARATIVE studies; MATHEMATICAL variables; PEARSON correlation (Statistics); RHEUMATOID arthritis; BLIND experiment; WAIST circumference; QUESTIONNAIRES; DESCRIPTIVE statistics; RESEARCH funding; STATISTICAL sampling; DATA analysis; DATA analysis software; EXERCISE therapy

In patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) exercise improves muscle strength and decreases fat mass, whereas the consumption of a Mediterranean diet (MD) also has been associated with higher grip strength. Therefore, it is important to explore the combined effects of these interventions on hand grip strength and weight in RA. To determine the combined effect of an MD and a dynamic exercise program (DEP) on hand grip strength in women with RA. In a randomized clinical trial, 106 women with RA were included and assigned to the DEP-MD, DEP and MD groups. Weight, body circumferences, Disease Activity Score-28, Health Assessment Questionnaire Disability Index [HAQ-DI], and hand grip strength were measured at baseline and 24 weeks after the interventions. After 24 weeks, hand grip strength showed a significant increase in the DEP group (median 2 kg) compared with DEP-MD (median 0.5 kg) and MD (median −0.5 kg) groups (p = 0.03). In the MD group weight and waist circumference showed a significant decrease (−2.2 kg and −4.3 cm) compared with DEP-MD (0.85 kg and 1.9 cm) and DEP (0.35 kg and 0.5 cm) groups (p < 0.01). Finally, a significant decrease was observed in the HAQ-DI after treatment in the DEP-MD group of −0.5 and the DEP group of −0.25 compared with the MD group with no change (p = 0.03). In women with RA, in addition to pharmacological treatment, DEP increases hand grip strength and an MD decreases weight and waist circumferences, while the combination of DEP and MD improves disability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Physiotherapy Theory & Practice is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)