ABSTRACT
Objectives@#Behavioral restrictions and staying at home during the COVID-19 pandemic have affected lifestyles. It was hypothesized that patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) decreased their activities of daily living (ADL) and exercise during the pandemic. The aim of this study is to investigate the changes in lifestyle and body composition. @*Methods@#Data were obtained from an observational study (CHIKARA study). Of 100 RA patients, 70 (57 women, 13 men) were followed-up with measurements of grip strength, as well as muscle mass, fat mass, and basal metabolic rate by a body composition analyzer. Changes in ADL and exercise were evaluated using a visual analog scale. The relationships between changes in ADL or exercise and body composition were investigated. @*Results@#Muscle mass and grip strength were significantly lower after behavioral restrictions compared to the periods before restrictions (34.0 vs 34.7 kg, P < 0.001; 16.2 vs 17.2 kg, P = 0.013, respectively). Fat mass was significantly greater after behavioral restrictions compared to the periods before restrictions (16.2 vs 15.5 kg, P = 0.014). The mean decrease in ADL was 44%, whereas that of exercise was 20%.The change in muscle mass (β = −0.335, P = 0.007) was the only independent factor for the change in exercise on multivariate analysis. @*Conclusions@#Muscle mass and grip strength decreased and fat mass increased in RA patients with the behavioral restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic. Muscle mass decreased in patients without exercise. Maintenance of muscle mass may be important during the COVID-19 pandemic.
ABSTRACT
Objectives@#Sarcopenia is relatively common in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. Thicknesses of the quadriceps muscle and fat are easily measured by ultrasound (US) and are known to be related to skeletal muscle mass and fat mass, respectively. @*Methods@#Eighty-four patients enrolled in the prospective correlation research of sarcopenia, skeletal muscle, and disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis study (UMIN000023744) underwent US examinations of anterior thigh muscle thickness (MT) and fat thickness (FT). Muscle and body fat (BF) mass were also examined by a body composition analyzer. Whether MT and FT were related to sarcopenia and obesity was examined. @*Results@#MT was significantly lower in RA patients with sarcopenia than in those without (23.8 vs 28.2 mm, P ¼ 0.001). MT was related to sarcopenia (men: r ¼ 0.56, P ¼ 0.02, women: r ¼ 0.32, P ¼ 0.01). The cut-off value of MT for sarcopenia was 24.7 mm in men and 19.7 mm in women on receiver operating characteristic curve analyses. FT was correlated with BF percentage (%BF; men: r ¼ 0.66, P < 0.01, women: r ¼ 0.62, P < 0.001), which was estimated by 2.04xFTþ8.53 in men and 1.2xFTþ17.42 in women by a simple linear regression model. This means that FT ! 8.1 mm in men and FT ! 14.6 mm in women indicated obesity. @*Conclusions@#US examination of the anterior thigh was useful to detect sarcopenia and obesity in RA patients.
ABSTRACT
Objectives@#Osteosarcopenia is defined as osteoporosis with sarcopenia. The impacts of osteosarcopenia on falls and fractures in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients were investigated using 4 years of data from a longitudinal study (CHIKARA study). @*Methods@#The patients were divided into 4 groups by their baseline status: no sarcopenia and no osteoporosis (SP-OP-); only sarcopenia (SP + OP-); only osteoporosis (SP-OP+); and both sarcopenia and osteoporosis (SP + OP+). Survival rates and Cox hazard ratios were analyzed using falls and fractures as endpoints, adjusted by age, sex, and body mass index. @*Results@#A total of 100 RA patients (SP-OP-: 44%, SP + OP-: 17%, SP-OP+: 28%, and SP + OP+: 11%) were enrolled; 37 patients had falls, and 19 patients had fractures. The fall-free and fracture-free survival rates were significantly lower in SP + OP+ (36.4%, 54.5%) than in SP-OP- (75.0%, 86.4%). The hazard ratio of falls was significantly increased in SP + OP+, by 3.32-fold (95%CI: 1.01–10.9), whereas in SP + OP- and SP-OP+, there were no differences compared to SP-OP-. @*Conclusions@#The survival rates with the endpoints of falls and fractures in RA patients with osteosarcopenia were lower during 4-year follow-up. The risk of falls increased with the synergistic effect of osteoporosis and sarcopenia.
ABSTRACT
Objectives@#Sarcopenia is relatively common in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. Thicknesses of the quadriceps muscle and fat are easily measured by ultrasound (US) and are known to be related to skeletal muscle mass and fat mass, respectively. @*Methods@#Eighty-four patients enrolled in the prospective correlation research of sarcopenia, skeletal muscle, and disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis study (UMIN000023744) underwent US examinations of anterior thigh muscle thickness (MT) and fat thickness (FT). Muscle and body fat (BF) mass were also examined by a body composition analyzer. Whether MT and FT were related to sarcopenia and obesity was examined. @*Results@#MT was significantly lower in RA patients with sarcopenia than in those without (23.8 vs 28.2 mm, P ¼ 0.001). MT was related to sarcopenia (men: r ¼ 0.56, P ¼ 0.02, women: r ¼ 0.32, P ¼ 0.01). The cut-off value of MT for sarcopenia was 24.7 mm in men and 19.7 mm in women on receiver operating characteristic curve analyses. FT was correlated with BF percentage (%BF; men: r ¼ 0.66, P < 0.01, women: r ¼ 0.62, P < 0.001), which was estimated by 2.04xFTþ8.53 in men and 1.2xFTþ17.42 in women by a simple linear regression model. This means that FT ! 8.1 mm in men and FT ! 14.6 mm in women indicated obesity. @*Conclusions@#US examination of the anterior thigh was useful to detect sarcopenia and obesity in RA patients.