Effects of Aquatic Exercises for Women with Rheumatoid Arthritis: A 12-Week Intervention in a Quasi-Experimental Study with Pain as a Mediator of Depression.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is characterized by low physical fitness, pain, and depression. The present study aimed to examine the effects of a supervised aquatic exercise program on physical fitness, depression, and pain in women with RA and determine whether decreases in pain mediate depression.

Methods

Forty-three women with RA, divided into an experimental group (EG; n = 21) and a control group (CG; n = 23), participated in a 12-week exercise program. Treatment effects were calculated via standardized difference or effect size (ES) using ANCOVA adjusted for baseline values (ES, 95% confidence interval (CI)). A simple panel of mediation was executed to determine whether changes in pain mediated improvements in depression after controlling for confounding variable

SUBMITTER: Perez-Sousa MA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10218167 | biostudies-literature | 2023 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature