Motivational messages boost health of arthritis patients

A combination of text messages and individual counselling sessions to motivate patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis may lead to improved patient outcomes, scientists have found for the first time. This type of behavioural intervention was effective at reducing daily sitting time by an average of more than two hours in Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) patients, and also reduced their cholesterol levels. Due to their disease, patients with RA tend to be more sedentary than the general population, which can have serious health consequences, including an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and premature death.