Holist Nurs Pract

Background.Mind-body exercises such as yoga offer rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients a symptom management strategy for improving physical and mental health. Studies have evaluated yoga to manage symptoms of RA and improve physical function; however, none have examined the relationship between yoga and work status in adults with RA.Objective.The objective was to describe differences in RA symptomatology, physical function scores, and work status between adults with RA who participate in yoga and those who do not.Methods.This cross-sectional study surveyed adults with rheumatologist-diagnosed RA regarding yoga use in the past year, symptoms, physical function, and work status. Differences between yoga and non-yoga participation groups were assessed with 2-sided t-tests or Pearson\u2019s chi-square tests. Multivariate linear regression analyses were conducted to identify significant associations between yoga participation and primary outcomes.Results.The sample included 398 adults with RA; 88% were females, 66% were white, mean age: 61.8 years, mean disease duration: 24.8 years; 10.6% participated in yoga. Vinyasa, Bikram, Hatha, Iyengar, and Restorative yoga styles were practiced, mostly in a group setting. Yoga participants were significantly more likely to work full-time, less likely to be unable to work due to disability, and had better physical function.Conclusions.These findings characterize yoga practice and practitioners among adults with RA. In adults with RA, yoga participation is associated with full-time work status and better physical function than non-participation. This study adds additional information to the growing body of literature about adults with RA who practice yoga.P60 AR053308/AR/NIAMS NIH HHS/United StatesR25 GM056847/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/United StatesT32 NR009356/NR/NINR NIH HHS/United StatesT42 OH008429/OH/NIOSH CDC HHS/United States2020-03-01T00:00:00Z30747775PMC63751007273vault:3149