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Got It, Hide thisDavergne T, Pallot A, Dechartres A, et al. Use of Wearable Activity Trackers to Improve Physical Activity Behavior in Patients With Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Diseases: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). 2019;71:758-67.
In people who have rheumatic and/or musculoskeletal diseases, do wearable activity trackers increase activity and improve symptoms?
Physical activity has positive effects on health and wellness and reduces risk for mortality. People with rheumatic and/or musculoskeletal diseases are often less physically active.
It is uncertain whether wearable activity trackers monitored by users can increase physical activity and improve symptoms in people with rheumatic and/or musculoskeletal diseases.
The researchers did a systematic review, searching for studies that were published in English from 2000 to May 2018. They found 15 randomized controlled studies with 1,393 people.
The key features of the studies were:
Most people were very good at using the wearable activity trackers as instructed during the studies (e.g., people wore wrist activity trackers 93% of the time for 10 weeks).
Compared with control, wearable activity trackers:
In people with rheumatic and/or musculoskeletal diseases, wearable activity trackers increase physical activity.
Outcomes | Number of studies (number of people) | Effect of wearable activity trackers |
Daily steps | 7 studies (463 people) | Activity trackers increased the number of daily steps by a large amount (1,520 more steps per day than the control group).† |
Moderate to vigorous physical activity | 3 studies (117 people) | Activity trackers increased the amount of moderate to vigorous physical activity by a small amount (16 more minutes per day than the control group). |
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