Impact of aerobic exercise training and garlic consumption on fatigue and cardiovascular risk factors in women with rheumatoid arthritis

This study aimed to investigate the effect of aerobic exercise and garlic supplementation on fatigue and cardiovascular risk factors in women with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Twenty-eight patients who fulfilled the European League Against Rheumatism- American College of Rheumatology (EULAR-ACR) criteria for RA were assigned to three groups, exercise + placebo (E+P) (n = 6), exercise + garlic supplement 500 mg twice/day (E+G), (n = 11) and garlic supplement 500 mg twice/day (G), (n = 11) for 8 weeks. The training program consisted of working on an ergometer 3 sessions/week with a heart rate equal to 60% of VO2max and gradual overload. The outcomes of this study were a comparison of changes in the mean value of the fatigue assessment questionnaire score (FSI), cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels. For data analysis, paired t-tests and ANCOVA were used using SPSS software (P ≤ 0.05). The results of the paired t-test showed that after the intervention, the levels of fatigue decreased in the E+G (P = 0.025) as well as in the G (P = 0.002), while it did not change in the E+P (P = 0.151). Additionally, the amount of cholesterol did not change in any of the study groups, and the amount of LDL decreased only in E+G (p=0.028). Furthermore, ANCOVA analysis showed that, there is no significant difference between the study groups in the levels of fatigue (P = 0.962), cholesterol (P = 0.922) and LDL (P = 0.626) after the intervention. According to the results, aerobic exercise and the consumption of garlic can be effective in reducing fatigue and the risk factors of cardiovascular.