Skip to main content
PMC home page
Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases logoLink to Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases
. 2003 Sep;62(9):885–889. doi: 10.1136/ard.62.9.885

Physical activity and health related physical fitness in children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis

T Takken 1, J van der Net 1, W Kuis 1, P Helders 1
PMCID: PMC1754667  PMID: 12922964

Abstract

Objective: To obtain insight into the interaction between daily physical activity and components of health related physical fitness in children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis.

Methods: Forty five patients (10 male/35 female; mean (SD) age 8.9 (2.2) years) participated in the study. Body mass, height, skinfold thickness, number of swollen joints, and joint range of motion were determined. The maximal oxygen consumption (VO2peak) was assessed during a graded maximal bicycle exercise test. Daily physical activity levels were measured with a Caltrac activity monitor and a parental physical activity rating (PAL) on a five point Likert scale.

Results: Partial correlation coefficients (to control for age) between physical activity and indices of health related physical fitness showed significant relationships between Caltrac motion counts and absolute VO2peak (r=0.31) and relative VO2peak (r=0.34), but not with the indices of body composition. There was also a significant correlation between PAL and relative VO2peak (r=0.33).

Conclusions: Physical activity was significantly related to cardiorespiratory fitness but not to body composition in children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis. A longitudinal follow up should show whether an active lifestyle protects for loss of aerobic fitness in this patient group.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (94.3 KB).

Figure 1.

Figure 1

Open in a new tab

Relation between physical activity and age. The left panel depicts the relation between Caltrac activity counts and age. The right panel depicts the relation between PAL and age.

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Alexander G. J., Hortas C., Bacon P. A. Bed rest, activity and the inflammation of rheumatoid arthritis. Br J Rheumatol. 1983 Aug;22(3):134–140. doi: 10.1093/rheumatology/22.3.134. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Booth Frank W., Chakravarthy Manu V., Gordon Scott E., Spangenburg Espen E. Waging war on physical inactivity: using modern molecular ammunition against an ancient enemy. J Appl Physiol (1985) 2002 Jul;93(1):3–30. doi: 10.1152/japplphysiol.00073.2002. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Bray M. S., Wong W. W., Morrow J. R., Jr, Butte N. F., Pivarnik J. M. Caltrac versus calorimeter determination of 24-h energy expenditure in female children and adolescents. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1994 Dec;26(12):1524–1530. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Durstine J. L., Painter P., Franklin B. A., Morgan D., Pitetti K. H., Roberts S. O. Physical activity for the chronically ill and disabled. Sports Med. 2000 Sep;30(3):207–219. doi: 10.2165/00007256-200030030-00005. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Haycock G. B., Schwartz G. J., Wisotsky D. H. Geometric method for measuring body surface area: a height-weight formula validated in infants, children, and adults. J Pediatr. 1978 Jul;93(1):62–66. doi: 10.1016/s0022-3476(78)80601-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Henderson C. J., Lovell D. J., Specker B. L., Campaigne B. N. Physical activity in children with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis: quantification and evaluation. Arthritis Care Res. 1995 Jun;8(2):114–119. doi: 10.1002/art.1790080210. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Kemper H. C., Twisk J. W., Koppes L. L., van Mechelen W., Post G. B. A 15-year physical activity pattern is positively related to aerobic fitness in young males and females (13-27 years). Eur J Appl Physiol. 2001 May;84(5):395–402. doi: 10.1007/s004210100392. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Kirchheimer J. C., Wanivenhaus A., Engel A. Does sport negatively influence joint scores in patients with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. An 8-year prospective study. Rheumatol Int. 1993;12(6):239–242. doi: 10.1007/BF00301009. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Klepper S. E. Effects of an eight-week physical conditioning program on disease signs and symptoms in children with chronic arthritis. Arthritis Care Res. 1999 Feb;12(1):52–60. doi: 10.1002/1529-0131(199902)12:1<52::aid-art9>3.0.co;2-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Len C., Ferraz M. B., Goldenberg J., Oliveira L. M., Araujo P. P., Quaresma M. R., Terreri M. T., Hilário M. O. Pediatric Escola Paulista de Medicina Range of Motion Scale: a reduced joint count scale for general use in juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. J Rheumatol. 1999 Apr;26(4):909–913. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Mackinnon L. T. Chronic exercise training effects on immune function. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2000 Jul;32(7 Suppl):S369–S376. doi: 10.1097/00005768-200007001-00001. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Myers Jonathan, Prakash Manish, Froelicher Victor, Do Dat, Partington Sara, Atwood J. Edwin. Exercise capacity and mortality among men referred for exercise testing. N Engl J Med. 2002 Mar 14;346(11):793–801. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa011858. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Payne V. G., Morrow J. R., Jr Exercise and VO2 max in children: a meta-analysis. Res Q Exerc Sport. 1993 Sep;64(3):305–313. doi: 10.1080/02701367.1993.10608815. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Pollack M. L., Schmidt D. H., Jackson A. S. Measurement of cardio-respiratory fitness and body composition in the clinical setting. Compr Ther. 1980 Sep;6(9):12–27. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Rowland T. W., Boyajian A. Aerobic response to endurance exercise training in children. Pediatrics. 1995 Oct;96(4 Pt 1):654–658. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Sallis J. F., Buono M. J., Roby J. J., Carlson D., Nelson J. A. The Caltrac accelerometer as a physical activity monitor for school-age children. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1990 Oct;22(5):698–703. doi: 10.1249/00005768-199010000-00023. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Shephard R. J., Allen C., Benade A. J., Davies C. T., Di Prampero P. E., Hedman R., Merriman J. E., Myhre K., Simmons R. The maximum oxygen intake. An international reference standard of cardiorespiratory fitness. Bull World Health Organ. 1968;38(5):757–764. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Shephard R. J., Shek P. N. Autoimmune disorders, physical activity, and training, with particular reference to rheumatoid arthritis. Exerc Immunol Rev. 1997;3:53–67. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Shvartz E., Reibold R. C. Aerobic fitness norms for males and females aged 6 to 75 years: a review. Aviat Space Environ Med. 1990 Jan;61(1):3–11. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Simons-Morton B. G., Taylor W. C., Huang I. W. Validity of the physical activity interview and Caltrac with preadolescent children. Res Q Exerc Sport. 1994 Mar;65(1):84–88. doi: 10.1080/02701367.1994.10762212. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Singh G., Athreya B. H., Fries J. F., Goldsmith D. P. Measurement of health status in children with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. Arthritis Rheum. 1994 Dec;37(12):1761–1769. doi: 10.1002/art.1780371209. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Takken Tim, Hemel Arlette, van der Net Janjaap, Helders Paul J. M. Aerobic fitness in children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis: a systematic review. J Rheumatol. 2002 Dec;29(12):2643–2647. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Takken Tim, Hemel Arlette, van der Net Janjaap, Helders Paul J. M. Aerobic fitness in children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis: a systematic review. J Rheumatol. 2002 Dec;29(12):2643–2647. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Trost S. G., Pate R. R., Freedson P. S., Sallis J. F., Taylor W. C. Using objective physical activity measures with youth: how many days of monitoring are needed? Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2000 Feb;32(2):426–431. doi: 10.1097/00005768-200002000-00025. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Trost Stewart G., Pate Russell R., Sallis James F., Freedson Patty S., Taylor Wendell C., Dowda Marsha, Sirard John. Age and gender differences in objectively measured physical activity in youth. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2002 Feb;34(2):350–355. doi: 10.1097/00005768-200202000-00025. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. Welk G. J., Corbin C. B., Dale D. Measurement issues in the assessment of physical activity in children. Res Q Exerc Sport. 2000 Jun;71(2 Suppl):S59–S73. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  27. Wulffraat N., van der Net J. J., Ruperto N., Kamphuis S., Prakken B. J., Ten Cate R., Van Soesbergen R. M., Van Rossum M. A., Raat H., Landgraf J. M. The Dutch version of the Childhood Health Assessment Questionnaire (CHAQ) and the Child Health Questionnaire (CHQ). Clin Exp Rheumatol. 2001 Jul-Aug;19(4 Suppl 23):S111–S115. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES