She said: “I think we have money better spent on promoting healthy lifestyles, decreasing the diseases that affect the population, and frankly some of the interventions on lifestyles would be the same things that could decrease carcinoma and cardiovascular diseases.”

These interventions were delivered in established community settings in urban and rural counties in North Carolina, including recreation centers, fitness centers, and facilities linked to religious buildings.

Adhering to a healthy lifestyle, namely never smoking, moderate alcohol use, regular exercise, healthy BMI, and healthy diet, is associated with a significantly reduced risk for rheumatoid arthritis in women, show data from the Nurses’ Health Studies.

Conclusion Incorporating Indigenous-specific adaptations in the design of PtDAs may increase use and relevancy to support engagement in treatment decisions, thereby supporting health-equity oriented health service interventions.

The team analyzed data for 44,654 men, aged a mean of 54 years, from the US-based Health Professionals Follow-up Study who completed a questionnaire pertaining to their medical history, current diet, and lifestyle habits every 2 years from 1986 to 2012.

Noting that patients in the study had a “high prevalence of modifiable risk factors,” including obesity (24.5%) and current smoking (24.2%), the researchers say that their findings highlight “the need to implement and evaluate intensive lifestyle modification interventions” among people receiving glucocorticoid treatment.

Discussing the practical implications of their study, they say that physical inactivity “is frequently associated with lower serum IGF1,” and lifestyle interventions to increase physical activity and increase IGF1 levels “could be an attractive [option] for RA patients.”

Maintaining a nonsmoking status for a sustained period is associated with a reduction in the excess risk for developing seropositive rheumatoid arthritis, findings suggest.

Bricca A et al. Arthritis Care Res 2018. doi: 10.1002/acr.23791

David Sherry discusses various pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic treatments for management of pediatric fibromyalgia, and outlines the impact of an interdisciplinary approach on physical function, mental health and pain outcomes in these patients.

David Sherry discusses various pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic treatments for management of pediatric fibromyalgia, and outlines the impact of an interdisciplinary approach on physical function, mental health and pain outcomes in these patients.

The aim of this study was to investigate the association between the Mediterranean diet and risk of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), taking RA subtype, gender and other RA risk factors into account [ read more ]. Johansson K et al. Arthritis Res Ther 2018; 20: 175. doi: 10.1186/s13075-018-1680-2

“In addition, lifestyle interventions to reduce inflammation in persons with depression may reduce risk of autoimmune disease as well as other negative health sequelae of depression, including cardiovascular disease.”

The aim of this study is to examine whether number of physical therapy visits or amount of use of an internet-based exercise training program is associated with differential improvement in outcomes for participants with knee osteoarthritis [ read more] . Pignato M et al. BMC Musculoskelet Disord 2018; 19: 238. doi: 10.1186/s12891-018-2139-y

Williams MA et al. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2018. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD003832.pub3