Key clinical point: Low cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) is an important mediator of increased long-term all-cause mortality among patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
Major finding: Patients with RA having CRF below sex-specific and age-specific median had a 28% excess relative risk of mortality ( P = .035), of which 5% was associated with the disease itself and 23% was mediated by direct and indirect effects of low CRF.
Study details: Data come from an analysis of patients with RA (n=348) and controls (n=60,938) who participated in the second and third waves of the longitudinal population-based Trøndelag Health Study.
Disclosures: This project was funded by a grant to MH Liff from the Central Norway Regional Health Authority, allocated via the Liaison Committee for Education, Research and Innovation in Central Norway. All the authors declared no conflicts of interest.
Source: Liff MH et al. RMD Open. 2021 March 8. doi: 10.1136/rmdopen-2020-001545 .