Trial of a Physical Activity Intervention for RA Fatigue

The major goal of this project is to conduct a randomized, controlled trial of the impact of a practical, low cost physical activity intervention on fatigue among persons with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Fatigue has been identified as a major concern for individuals with RA, and is considered a core outcome measure for RA. Our recent study of the sources of fatigue identified physical inactivity as a primary predictor of fatigue. Studies have examined the impact of exercise interventions on RA outcomes, but most of these interventions have focused on pain or function as outcomes. The few exercise studies examining fatigue suggest that increasing physical activity reduces fatigue, but the interventions have been resource-intensive, requiring specially trained personnel to administer them, highly structured activities, and/or attendance at classes or a specified facility. Each of these components increases the cost and barriers to implementation of an intervention. Pedometers have been shown to be an effective means of increasing physical activity, and could form the basis of a simple means to increase physical activity.

This project will test the effect of a simple pedometer-based intervention, with two incremental degrees of guidance, on increasing physical activity and decreasing fatigue. Three groups (n=40 in each) will be studied: a control group with an educational pamphlet only, a pedometer-only intervention group, and a pedometer group with step targets. Both intervention groups will keep step-count diaries. Groups will be followed over 20 weeks. We expect that (1) the pedometer-only intervention group will increase activity more than the education group, and the group with step-count targets will demonstrate even greater increases in activity; and (2) greater increases in activity will be associated with greater decreases in fatigue. Secondary outcome measures will include depressive symptoms, self-reported sleep quality, and body composition. Our overall goal is to demonstrate an effective, yet simple and low cost, physical activity intervention to decrease fatigue that could be broadly accessible and have the potential for wide implementation.