Association between physical activity and all-cause mortality in rheumatoid arthritis: evidence from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) and UK Biobank cohort studies
Authors' conclusion
PA is associated with reduced all-cause mortality in patients with RA.
Study context
- Population
- Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in NHANES 2007–2018 (self-reported physical activity (PA)) and UK Biobank (7-day wrist-worn accelerometers)NHANES 1493
- Exposure
- Active and highly active PA vs inactive
- Outcome
- All-cause mortality
Methodological detailsdual-cohort observational study, Cox proportional-hazards models, restricted cubic spline analysis, random-effects pooled analysis, fully adjusted models
- Dual-cohort observational study
- Cox proportional-hazards models
- Restricted cubic spline analysis
- Random-effects pooled analysis
- Fully adjusted models
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
All-cause mortality, fully adjusted
HR
- Active · NHANES
- 0.381
- Highly active · NHANES
- 0.675
- Active · UK Biobank
- 0.557
- Highly active · UK Biobank
- 0.491
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
| Outcome | HR |
|---|---|
| All-cause mortality, pooled analysis of both cohortsActive vs Inactive · random-effects models | 0.48 |
| All-cause mortality, pooled analysis of both cohortsHighly active vs Inactive · random-effects models | 0.61 |
All-cause mortality, pooled analysis of both cohorts
- Low heterogeneity across studies
Shape of PA–mortality association (restricted cubic spline (RCS))
- NHANES: U-shaped, moderate PA greatest protective effect
- UK Biobank: L-shaped, highly active lowest mortality risk
Joint work-related and recreational PA (NHANES)
- Active work-related PA with inactive recreational PA yielded the greatest mortality reduction
High genetic risk subgroup (UK Biobank, polygenic risk scores)
- Moderate-to-vigorous PA remained protective
Original publication
Association between physical activity and all-cause mortality in rheumatoid arthritis: evidence from NHANES and UK Biobank cohort studies. Arthritis Res Ther. Published 28 January 2026. doi:10.
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