title: Long-term exercise therapy resolves ethnic differences in baseline health status in older adults with knee osteoarthritis. Physical activity levels and functional performance in the osteoarthritis initiative: a graded relationship. Long-term impact of Fit and Strong! on older adults with osteoarthritis. Effects of intensive diet and exercise on knee joint loads, inflammation, and clinical outcomes among overweight and obese adults with knee osteoarthritis: the IDEA randomized clinical trial.
abstract: OBJECTIVES To determine whether ethnicity was associated with baseline and 18-month health status within a merged sample of older adults with knee osteoarthritis ( OA ) from the Fitness Arthritis in Seniors Trial and the Arthritis , Diet , and Activity Promotion Trial . DESIGN Cross-sectional and prospect i ve study . SETTING Center-based exercise therapy at two universities . PARTICIPANTS A total of 584 African-American ( n=143 ) and Caucasian-American ( n=441 ) adults aged 60 and older with knee OA were examined for baseline and 18-month health status . MEASUREMENTS Six-minute-walk distance , 36-item Short Form General Health Scale ( SF-36 GHS ) , and Physical Functioning Question naire index score . Ethnicity was obtained via self-report . RESULTS Analyses of covariance testing the effect of ethnicity , adjusted for demographic and health status covariates , revealed significant effects for ethnicity upon baseline 6-minute-walk distance and SF-36 GHS , with Caucasian Americans reporting better scores ( P=.001 ) , although these differences were not significant after 18 months of exercise therapy . CONCLUSION Ethnicity and baseline function are important factors that should not be overlooked in knee OA research involving exercise interventions . Moreover , not only should physical activity be recommended to improve functional outcomes , it may also be a useful strategy in reducing health disparities OBJECTIVE Physical activity improves function in adults with arthritis , but it is unknown if there is a grade d relationship between physical activity and functional benefit . This study was undertaken to examine the cross-sectional and longitudinal relationship between self-reported physical activity and observed functional performance in adults with knee osteoarthritis ( OA ) . METHODS The Osteoarthritis Initiative cohort included 2,589 patients with knee OA ( 2,301 with longitudinal followup data ) who were ages 45 - 79 years at baseline . Prospect i ve annual functional performance was assessed for 2 years using timed 20-meter walk tests .  We used linear regression to estimate differences across physical activity quartiles in subsequent function ( baseline and 1-year activity predicts 1-year and 2-year function , respectively ) adjusted for demographic factors ( age , sex , race/ethnicity , education level , and marital status ) and health factors ( OA severity , knee symptoms , knee pain , knee injury , body mass index , comorbidity , depression , smoking , alcohol use , and other joint pain ) . RESULTS Increasing physical activity levels had a significant grade d relationship to functional performance . Adults in physical activity quartile groups from least active to most active had an average gait speed of 4.0 , 4.2 , 4.3 , and 4.5 feet/second , respectively , at baseline ( P for trend<0.001 ) and 4.0 , 4.2 , 4.3 , and 4.5 feet/second , respectively , after 1 year ( P for trend<0.001 ) ; increasing trends remained significant after adjusting for covariates . Findings were similar within sex and age groups . CONCLUSION These prospect i ve data indicate a consistent grade d relationship between physical activity level and better performance in adults with knee OA . These findings support guidelines that encourage patients with arthritis who can not attain minimum recommended physical activity to be as active as possible PURPOSE We present final outcomes from the multiple-component Fit and Strong ! intervention for older adults with lower extremity osteoarthritis . DESIGN AND METHODS A r and omized controlled trial compared the effects of this exercise and behavior-change program followed by home-based reinforcement  ( n=115 ) with a wait list control  ( n=100 ) at 2 , 6 , and 12 months . Fit and Strong ! combined flexibility , aerobic walking , and resistance training with education and group problem solving to enhance self-efficacy for exercise and maintenance of physical activity . All participants developed individualized plans for long-term maintenance . RESULTS Relative to controls , treatment participants experienced statistically significant improvements in self-efficacy for exercise  ( p=.001 ) , minutes of exercise per week ( p=.000 ) , and lower extremity stiffness ( p=.018 ) at 2 months . These benefits were maintained at 6 months and were accompanied by increased self-efficacy for adherence to exercise over time ( p=.001 ) , reduced pain ( p=.040 ) , and a marginally significant increase in self-efficacy for arthritis pain management ( p=.052 ) . Despite a substantially smaller sample size at 12 months , significant treatment-group effects were maintained on self-efficacy for exercise ( p=.006 ) and minutes of exercise per week ( p=.001 ) , accompanied by marginally significant reductions in lower extremity stiffness ( p=.056 ) and pain ( p=.066 ) . No adverse health effects were seen . Effect sizes for self-efficacy for exercise and for maintenance of physical activity were 0.798 and 0.713 , and 0.905 and 0.669 , respectively , in the treatment group at 6 and 12 months . IMPLICATION S This consistent pattern of benefits indicates that this low-cost intervention is efficacious for older adults with lower extremity osteoarthritis IMPORTANCE Knee osteoarthritis ( OA ) , a common cause of chronic pain and disability , has biomechanical and inflammatory origins and is exacerbated by obesity . OBJECTIVE To determine whether a ≥10 % reduction in body weight induced by diet , with or without exercise , would improve mechanistic and clinical outcomes more than exercise alone . DESIGN , SETTING , AND PARTICIPANTS Single-blind , 18-month , r and omized clinical trial at Wake Forest University between July 2006 and April 2011 . The diet and exercise interventions were center-based with options for the exercise groups to transition to a home-based program . Participants were 454 overweight and obese older community-dwelling adults ( age ≥55 years with body mass index of 27 - 41 ) with pain and radiographic knee OA . INTERVENTIONS Intensive diet-induced weight loss plus exercise , intensive diet-induced weight loss , or exercise . MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Mechanistic primary outcomes : knee joint compressive force and plasma IL-6 levels ; secondary clinical outcomes : self-reported pain ( range , 0 - 20 ) , function ( range , 0 - 68 ) , mobility , and health-related quality of life ( range , 0 - 100 ) . RESULTS Three hundred ninety-nine participants ( 88 % ) completed the study . Mean weight loss for diet + exercise participants was 10.6 kg ( 11.4 % ) ; for the diet group , 8.9 kg ( 9.5 % ) ; and for the exercise group , 1.8 kg ( 2.0 % ) . After 18 months , knee compressive forces were lower in diet participants ( mean , 2487 N ; 95 % CI , 2393 to 2581 ) compared with exercise participants ( 2687 N ; 95 % CI , 2590 to 2784 , pairwise difference [Δ](exercise vs diet ) = 200 N ; 95 % CI , 55 to 345 ; P = .007 ) . Concentrations of IL-6 were lower in diet + exercise ( 2.7 pg/mL ; 95 % CI , 2.5 to 3.0 ) and diet participants ( 2.7 pg/mL ; 95 % CI , 2.4 to 3.0 ) compared with exercise participants ( 3.1 pg/mL ; 95 % CI , 2.9 to 3.4 ; Δ(exercise vs diet + exercise ) = 0.39 pg/mL ; 95 % CI , -0.03 to 0.81 ; P = .007 ; Δ(exercise vs diet ) = 0.43 pg/mL ; 95 % CI , 0.01 to 0.85 , P = .006 ) . The diet + exercise group had less pain ( 3.6 ; 95 % CI , 3.2 to 4.1 ) and better function ( 14.1 ; 95 % CI , 12.6 to 15.6 ) than both the diet group ( 4.8 ; 95 % CI , 4.3 to 5.2 ) and exercise group ( 4.7 ; 95 % CI , 4.2 to 5.1 , Δ(exercise vs diet + exercise ) = 1.02 ; 95 % CI , 0.33 to 1.71 ; P(pain ) = .004 ; 18.4 ; 95 % CI , 16.9 to 19.9 ; Δ(exercise vs diet + exercise ) , 4.29 ; 95 % CI , 2.07 to 6.50 ; P(function ) < .001 ) . The diet + exercise group ( 44.7 ; 95 % CI , 43.4 to 46.0 ) also had better physical health-related quality of life scores than the exercise group ( 41.9 ; 95 % CI , 40.5 to 43.2 ; Δ(exercise vs diet + exercise ) = -2.81 ; 95 % CI , -4.76 to -0.86 ; P = .005 ) . CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Among overweight and obese adults with knee OA , after 18 months , participants in the diet + exercise and diet groups had more weight loss and greater reductions in IL-6 levels than those in the exercise group ; those in the diet group had greater reductions in knee compressive force than those in the exercise group . TRIAL REGISTRATION clinical trials.gov Identifier : NCT00381290
target: Social ( e.g. support from spouse ( n = 141 ) ) and environment ( outdoor temperature ( n = 38 ) ) factors were identified as possible factors that influence physical activity .
  Conclusion : Demographic , physical , social , psychological and environmental factors are all important correlates for physical activity for people with knee or hip osteoarthritis .
background: Objective : To determine the factors associated with physical activity participation in adults with hip or knee osteoarthritis .