This study assessed the effect of 12-week aerobic exercise on arterial stiffness (primary outcome), inflammation, oxidative stress, and cardiorespiratory fitness (secondary outcomes) in women with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). In a non-randomized clinical trial, 58 women with SLE were assigned to either aerobic exercise (n = 26) or usual care (n = 32). The intervention comprised 12 weeks of aerobic exercise (2 sessions × 75 min/week) between 40–75% of the individual’s heart rate reserve. At baseline and at week 12, arterial stiffness was assessed through pulse wave velocity (PWV), inflammatory (i.e., high-sensitivity C-reactive protein [hsCRP], tumor necrosis factor alpha [TFN-α], and inteleukin 6 [IL-6]) and oxidative stress (i.e., myeloperoxidase [MPO]) markers were obtained from blood samples, and cardiorespiratory fitness was assessed (Bruce test). There were no between-group differences in the changes in arterial stiffness (median PWV difference −0.034, 95% CI −0.42 to 0.36 m/s; p = 0.860) or hsCRP, TNF-α, IL-6, and MPO (all p > 0.05) at week 12. In comparison to the control group, the exercise group significantly increased cardiorespiratory fitness (median difference 2.26 minutes, 95% CI 0.98 to 3.55; p = 0.001). These results suggest that 12 weeks of progressive treadmill aerobic exercise increases cardiorespiratory fitness without exacerbating arterial stiffness, inflammation, or oxidative stress in women with SLE.

Purpose: To find modifiable factors that are related to subjective well-being would be valuable for improving interventions in fibromyalgia. Physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and physical fitness may represent potential areas to optimize treatment regimens. In fibromyalgia, there is a discordance between clinical observations and patient-reported outcomes (objective and subjective assessments). Therefore, the present study aims at analyzing the associations of objective and subjective evaluations of physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and physical fitness with subjective well-being and determine if and how objective and subjective associations differ. Methods: In this population-based cross-sectional study participated 375 women with fibromyalgia from the al-Ándalus project (Spain). Physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and physical fitness were objectively (accelerometers and performance testing) and subjectively (questionnaires) measured. Participants self-reported their levels of positive affect, negative affect, and life satisfaction. Results: In the most conservative multivariate analysis, we found independent associations of the objective measures of physical activity with positive affect and life satisfaction and sedentary behaviour with positive affect. No such relationship was seen with subjective measures of the same behaviours. Moreover, we observed that objective and subjective physical fitness evaluations were independent of each other related to subjective well-being. Conclusions: Independent associations of the objective measures (but not the subjective assessments) of physical activity with positive affect and life satisfaction, and of sedentary behaviour with positive affect were observed. However, objective measures and subjective appraisals of physical fitness appear to be independently related to well-being, which should be considered when developing physical exercise interventions for fibromyalgia.

To examine the association of physical activity (PA) intensity levels and sedentary time with health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in women with fibromyalgia and whether patients meeting the current PA guidelines present better HRQoL. This cross-sectional study included 407 women with fibromyalgia aged 51.4 ± 7.6 years. The time spent (min/day) in different PA intensity levels (light, moderate, and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and sedentary time were measured with triaxial accelerometry. The proportion of women meeting the American PA recommendations (≥150 min/week of MVPA in bouts ≥10 min) was also calculated. HRQoL domains (physical function, physical role, bodily pain, general health, vitality, social functioning, emotional role, and mental health), as well as physical and mental components, were assessed using the 36-item Short-Form Health Survey. All PA intensity levels were positively correlated with different HRQoL dimensions (r partial between 0.10 and 0.23, all p < 0.05). MVPA was independently associated with social functioning (p < 0.05). Sedentary time was independently associated with physical function, physical role, bodily pain, vitality, social functioning, and both the physical and mental component summary score (all p < 0.05). Patients meeting the PA recommendations presented better scores for bodily pain (mean = 24.2 (95%CI: 21.3-27.2) vs. mean = 20.4 (95%CI: 18.9-21.9), p = 0.023) and better scores for social functioning (mean = 48.7 (95%CI: 43.9-44.8) vs. mean = 42.3 (95%CI: 39.8-44.8), p = 0.024). MVPA (positively) and sedentary time (negatively) are independently associated with HRQoL in women with fibromyalgia. Meeting the current PA recommendations is significantly associated with better scores for bodily pain and social functioning. These results highlight the importance of being physically active and avoiding sedentary behaviors in this population.

To study the association of different components of physical fitness [flexibility, muscle strength and cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF)] and a clustered fitness score with health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in women with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and to analyze whether participants with high fitness level have better HRQoL. This cross-sectional study included 70 women with SLE (aged 42.5; SD 13.9 years). The back-scratch test assessed flexibility, the 30-sec chair stand and handgrip strength tests assessed muscle strength, and the 6-min walk test (n = 49) assessed CRF. HRQoL was assessed through the 36-item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36). Flexibility was positively associated with the physical function dimension and the physical component summary (PCS) (r_partial between 0.26 and 0.31; p<0.05), and negatively related with social functioning dimension (r_partial = -0.26; p<0.05). Muscle strength was positively associated with the physical function, physical role, bodily pain dimensions and the PCS (r_partial between 0.27 and 0.49; all p<0.05). CRF was positively associated with the physical function and bodily pain dimensions, and PCS (r_partial between 0.39 and 0.65; all p<0.05). The clustered fitness score was associated with the physical function (B = 17.16) and bodily pain (B = 14.35) dimensions, and the PCS (B = 6.02), all p<0.005. Patients with high fitness level had greater scores in the physical function, physical role, and bodily pain dimensions and the PCS, all p≤0.05. Our study suggests that muscle strength and CRF are positively associated with HRQoL, while flexibility showed contradictory results. These findings highlight the importance of maintaining adequate fitness levels in women with SLE.

This study aimed at testing the differences in emotional intelligence ability between women with fibromyalgia (cases) and their age-matched counterparts not with fibromyalgia from the general population (controls) and analysing the association between emotional intelligence ability and widespread pain in women with fibromyalgia. A total of 133 cases and 77 controls participated in this cross-sectional study. Controls performed better than cases on emotion understanding. Higher emotion perception and management were significantly associated with lower widespread pain. Therefore, women with fibromyalgia may experience difficulties in understanding emotional information. In fibromyalgia, higher emotion perception and management abilities are independently related to lower widespread pain.