Fat limbs linked to disability in arthritis

People with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who have more fat on their arms and legs suffer more disability from the disease. People with RA often develop disability early in the course of the disease, leading to worse quality of life and increased mortality risk. Both increased fat and reduced lean mass have been linked to RA, but it has not been clear how body composition might affect physical functioning of the patients. To study how fat and lean mass affect body function in RA patients, researchers from America looked at the body composition and disability in 197 men and women with RA. The researchers used a standard health assessment questionnaire (HAQ) to gauge disability in the study participants; the scale rates each of 21 common activities of daily living from 0 to 3, with 0 indicating no disability and 3 signaling inability to perform a task. The researchers also took severity, depression and other such factors into consideration. It was found that the more fat patients had on their limbs, the higher their HAQ score. On the other hand, the more lean mass patients had on their arms and legs, the lower their HAQ score, indicating better physical function. However, the link between lean mass and physical function was only significant for women after adjustment for other factors. The above findings suggest that health practitioners should encourage muscle strengthening and fat loss in patients with RA as a method of reducing disability.

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