Arthritis Patients Listen When Doc Tells Them to Exercise

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Recommendations from health care providers are linked with adherence to guidelines for physical activity in adults with arthritis.

(HealthDay News) – Recommendations from health care providers are linked with adherence to guidelines for physical activity in adults with arthritis, according to research published online Nov. 7 in the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Preventing Chronic Disease.

Shamly Austin, PhD, of the University of Pittsburgh, and colleagues analyzed data for adults with arthritis, aged ≥45 years, from the 2011 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System to assess the association between provider recommendations and adherence to physical activity guidelines.

The researchers found that adults with arthritis who received recommendations for physical activity from health care providers were more likely to adhere to guidelines for physical activity than those who did not receive recommendations (odds ratio [OR], 1.22; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.12–1.32). Age was not a factor in the relation between provider recommendations and patient adherence to physical activity (OR, 1; 95% CI, 0.99–1).

“Health care providers’ recommendations are associated with adherence to physical activity guidelines among adults with arthritis,” the authors write. “Providers should recommend physical activity to adults with arthritis.”

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