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Objective: Regular physical activity is associated with decreased morbidity and mortality. Traditionally, patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have been advised to limit physical exercise. We studied the prevalence of physical activity and associations with demographic and disease-related variables in patients with RA from 21 countries., Methods: The Questionnaires in Standard Monitoring of Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis (QUEST-RA) is a cross-sectional study that includes a self-report questionnaire and clinical assessment of nonselected consecutive outpatients with RA who are receiving usual clinical care. Frequency of physical exercise (>or=30 minutes with at least some shortness of breath, sweating) is queried with 4 response options: >or=3 times weekly, 1-2 times weekly, 1-2 times monthly, and no exercise., Results: Between January 2005 and April 2007, a total of 5,235 patients from 58 sites in 21 countries were enrolled in QUEST-RA: 79% were women, >90% were white, mean age was 57 years, and mean disease duration was 11.6 years. Only 13.8% of all patients reported physical exercise>or=3 times weekly. The majority of the patients were physically inactive with no regular weekly exercise: >80% in 7 countries, 60-80% in 12 countries, and 45% and 29% in 2 countries, respectively. Physical inactivity was associated with female sex, older age, lower education, obesity, comorbidity, low functional capacity, and higher levels of disease activity, pain, and fatigue., Conclusion: In many countries, a low proportion of patients with RA exercise. These data may alert rheumatologists to motivate their patients to increase physical activity levels.

Objective: To evaluate labor force characteristics among patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in Lithuania. To assess if Lithuania's transition from a state-planned to a free-market economy after 1990 changed the employment perspectives of patients with RA., Methods: RA patients, age 16-65 years (n = 238), were randomly selected from the RA register in Vilnius. They completed questions about sociodemographics, working status, and disease characteristics, they underwent a clinical examination, and they completed the modified Health Assessment Questionnaire and the Short Form 36., Results: Age- and sex-adjusted employment was 24.2% lower and work disability 51.7% higher in patients compared with the general population in Lithuania. After 10 years of disease, 48% of the patients had withdrawn from the labor force. In those with a paid job, the average sick leave in the past year was 31.9 days compared with the national average of 10.8 days. Although disease activity was not significantly different in employed compared with work-disabled patients, physical function and perceived quality of life (except general health) were worse among patients with work disability. The change in economic organization in 1990 was noted to increase the risk for work withdrawal by a factor of 2.75 (95% confidence interval 1.68-4.53)., Conclusion: In Lithuania, the impact of RA on work disability is important. Although work disability in Lithuanian patients with RA seems more pronounced compared with reports from Western societies, variables associated with work disability are comparable. The transition to a market-orientated economy in 1990 increased the risk of becoming work disabled.