Effect of high-intensity interval training on muscle remodeling in rheumatoid arthritis compared to prediabetes
Question
How do rheumatoid arthritis and prediabetes groups respond to supervised treadmill HIIT in aerobic capacity, disease activity, and skeletal muscle remodeling markers?
Summary
This small supervised treadmill HIIT study found that adults with rheumatoid arthritis and adults with prediabetes improved aerobic capacity after 10 weeks. RA disease activity improved, but muscle inflammatory markers and myostatin did not improve consistently.
Methodology
- Previously sedentary adults with rheumatoid arthritis or prediabetes
- 21 participants.
- Treadmill walking.
- Work intervals: 60-90 seconds.
- Recovery: 60-90 seconds.
- Intensity: 80-90% HR reserve work; 50-60% HR reserve recovery.
- About 20-25 minutes.
- 3 sessions/week.
- 10 weeks.
- Small supervised before-after intervention comparing two clinical groups
- Peak VO2, RA disease activity, Muscle inflammatory markers, and Body composition were tracked.
Outcomes
Peak VO2
Peak VO2 improved in both clinical groups.
RA relative VO2 24.9 to 27.1; prediabetes 19.9 to 23.1; p<0.05.
Disease activity
RA DAS-28 decreased after training.
DAS-28 3.1 to 2.3.
Muscle markers
No group-level reductions in plasma galectin-3, muscle cytokines, or myostatin.
Medication subgroups
Some RA medications were associated with no body-composition improvement.
TNF inhibitor or hydroxychloroquine users did not improve body composition.
Insights
- Clinically screened walking HIIT can improve aerobic fitness in sedentary RA and prediabetes participants.
- Mechanistic inflammation claims should remain tentative.
Limitations
- Small pilot sample.
- No nonexercise control group.
- Medication confounding in RA.
- Adverse events and attendance not reported.
Safety
- Adverse events were not reported.
- Participants were screened to exclude cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus, and inability to walk unaided on a treadmill.
- Training was supervised with continuous heart-rate monitoring; dropout/adherence counts were not reported.