Women who exercise most may be the least likely to have rheumatoid arthritis, experts claim

Taking physical exercise can help women reduce their risk of rheumatoid arthritis says a large study from Sweden published in Arthritis Research and Therapy.
Until now there has been little research into the association between exercise and the development of rheumatoid arthritis. So a team analysed data from 30,112 middle-aged and older women and found there was a 35% lower risk of rheumatoid arthritis in women in the highest category of leisure-time activity compared to those in the lowest category.
Other findings
• A decreased risk of 32% was found for women engaged in household work, although this was not statistically significant;
• A 15% reduction was found for those involved in work/occupation-related activities;
• A 27% increased risk was seen for those whose leisure time was characterised by physical inactivity.
“This prospective population-based cohort study of women supports the hypothesis that physical activity can be a protective factor in the etiology of rheumatoid arthritis,” the researchers say. “Our results add to accumulated evidence on benefits of modifiable leisure-time physical activity for prevention of many other chronic diseases.”

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Image credit: Stefan Powell