RESEARCH - Association of body composition with disability in RA: impact of appendicular fat and lean tissue mass

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Arthritis Rheum. 2008 Sep 29;59(10):1407-1415.

Association of body composition with disability in rheumatoid

arthritis: Impact of appendicular fat and lean tissue mass.

Giles JT, Bartlett SJ, Andersen RE, Fontaine KR, Bathon JM.

The s Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, land.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the association of measures of body composition

with disability in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

METHODS: Patients with RA underwent total body dual-energy x-ray

absorptiometry for measurement of total and regional body fat and lean

mass. The associations of measures of fat and lean mass with

disability, measured with the Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ),

were explored for the total cohort and by sex, controlling for

pertinent demographic, lifestyle, and RA disease and treatment

covariates.

RESULTS: We studied 197 subjects (118 women, 79 men). Median

(interquartile range) HAQ score was 0.625 (0.125-1.25) and was

significantly higher, indicating worse physical function, in women

than in men. HAQ score was strongly correlated with depression, pain,

RA duration, duration of morning stiffness, Disease Activity Score in

28 joints, radiographic damage scores, levels of physical and

sedentary activities, and body composition, with increasing fat and

decreasing lean mass associated with higher HAQ scores. Appendicular

fat and lean mass demonstrated the strongest association per kilogram

with HAQ. Mean HAQ score was 0.52 units higher for subjects in the

highest versus the lowest quartile of appendicular fat mass (P <

0.001), and 0.81 units higher for subjects in the lowest versus the

highest quartile of appendicular lean mass (P < 0.001). Adjusting for

demographic and RA characteristics partially attenuated these

associations. The joint associations of appendicular fat and lean mass

on HAQ were additive without significant interaction.

CONCLUSION: Body composition, particularly the amount of fat and lean

mass located in the arms and legs, is strongly associated with

disability in RA patients.

PMID: 18821641

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18821641

Not an MD