RESEARCH - Arthritis as a potential barrier to physical activity among dults with heart disease - US, 2005 and 2007

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From Morbidity & Mortality Weekly Report

13 Aug 2009

Arthritis as a Potential Barrier to Physical Activity Among Adults

With Heart Disease -- United States, 2005 and 2007

J Bolen, PhD; L , PhD; K Greenlund, PhD; CG Helmick, MD; J

Hootman, PhD; TJ Brady, PhD; G Langmaid; N Keenan, PhD

Being physically active is an important component of heart disease

(HD) management[1]; however patients with HD are less likely to comply

with physical activity recommendations than those without HD.[2]

Arthritis is a common comorbidity among persons with HD, and

arthritis-associated joint pain and fear of further joint damage can

be an unrecognized barrier to physical activity among persons with HD

(CDC, unpublished data, 2008). To provide estimates of the magnitude

of this problem at the state level, CDC combined 2005 and 2007

Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) data to estimate

overall and age- and sex-specific prevalence of self-reported

doctor-diagnosed arthritis among adults aged ≥ 18 years with

self-reported HD, and the prevalence of physical inactivity among

adults with HD by arthritis status. The results indicated that, for

these 2 years combined, arthritis affected 57.4% of adults with HD,

compared with 27.4% of adults in the general population. Among adults

with HD, the likelihood of physical inactivity was 30% greater

compared with that of persons with HD but without arthritis, when

adjusted for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education level, and body mass

index (BMI) (odds ratio [OR] = 1.3). These results suggest that

arthritis might be an additional barrier to increased physical

activity among persons with HD. Health-care providers and public

health agencies should consider addressing this barrier with

arthritis-specific or general evidence-based self-management education

and exercise programs for their patients with arthritis and HD.

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Read the whole article here:

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/589636

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