Sponsor
This study was supported by Grant DTCRD112(2)-I-27 from the Buddhist Dalin Tzu Chi Hospital.
Published In
Medicina
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
12-27-2024
Abstract
Background and Objectives:
For persons with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), the accompanying systemic inflammatory conditions often insidiously damage extra-glandular organs, causing poor outcomes. Despite evidence manifesting the application of rehabilitation services (RSs), the association between RSs use and changes in the inflammatory response among persons with RA has not yet been established. With that in mind, this study aimed to evaluate changes in C-reactive protein (CRP) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) before and after long-term RSs use.
Materials and Methods:
For this two-group pre and posttest study, medical data of 4505 persons with RA aged 20–70 years between 2012 and 2017 were retrieved from an electronic medical record database held by a hospital in Taiwan. Of them, 1387 subjects were categorized as RSs users, who received RSs at least six times within the first year of RA onset. Generalized estimating equations analysis was then employed to compare the changes in ESR and CRP at baseline, and at 12, 18, 24, 30, and 36 months after RA onset.
Results:
After adjusting for inherent differences and mature impact, those receiving standard care plus RSs were found to have a lower CRP level than those without receiving RSs. This benefit was maintained within a 3-year follow-up period. Additionally, a slight but nonsignificant reduction in ESR existed over the same timeframe.
Conclusions:
Integrating RSs into conventional care may be helpful to modulate the inflammation for RA patients, but further research via randomized controlled trials is needed to validate the application of RSs.
Rights
Copyright: © 2024 by the authors.
Published by MDPI on behalf of the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by/4.0/).
DOI
10.3390/medicina60121938
Persistent Identifier
https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/coun_fac/137/
Citation Details
Huang, H.-J., Chen, W.-J., Livneh, H., Huang, H.-L., Lu, M.-C., & Tsai, T.-Y. (2024). Integrating Rehabilitation Services into Routine Care of Rheumatoid Arthritis May Reduce the Inflammatory Response: A Hospital-Based Follow-Up Study in Taiwan. Medicina, 60(12), 1938.