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CompletedNCT02528344Updated Dec 8, 2016

High Intensity Interval Training and Rheumatoid Arthritis

An interventional study of HIIT in Rheumatoid Arthritis, sponsored by Duke University. Completed at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 60 Years to 80 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2016-12-08.

Sponsored by Duke University · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment

Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
12
Allocation
Not applicable
Ages
60 Years to 80 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

The overall objective is to determine whether High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) has potential to improve disease activity scores for Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) patients. By reducing inflammation and modifying immune function HIIT may offer a substantial paradigm shift in RA care, especially in older persons with RA who experience aging related-immunesenescence, increased systemic inflammation and greater physical inactivity than young persons. Prior to embarking on a large scale trial of HIIT-induced disease modification, this pilot study aims to demonstrate that HIIT can produce measurable responses in disease activity scores and peak VO2in persons undergoing routine pharmacologic treatment for RA.

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Conditions studied

  • Rheumatoid Arthritis

Keywords

  • High Intensity Interval Training
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In context

Arthritis

3,554 studies on the registry are indexed under Arthritis; 317 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 12 is below the median of 90 across 2,377 interventional studies indexed under Arthritis.

Browse Arthritis studies →

Lead sponsor

Duke University is the lead sponsor of 2,025 studies on the registry; 275 are open to participants now.

Of its 194 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 159 (82%) have results posted.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

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Who can participate

Ages eligible
60 Years to 80 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

  • Seropositive (positive rheumatoid factor or anti-citrullinated protein antibody) or erosions typical of RA on radiographs.
  • History of fulfilling 2010 ACR/EULAR Classification Criteria for RA
  • Able to walk on a treadmill
  • Not participating in regular physical exercise (more than 60 minutes of moderate intensity or 30 minutes of vigorous intensity exercise per week) or weight reduction dieting.
  • No medication changes within the last three months.
  • Willing to forego knee joint injections, regular NSAID use, and use acetaminophen for any necessary analgesia during the course of the intervention.
  • No current (within the last three weeks) pharmacologic therapy with corticosteroids.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Coronary artery disease
  • Diabetes mellitus
  • Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
  • Absolute contra-indications to exercise: Recent (\<6 months) acute cardiac event unstable angina, uncontrolled dysrhythmias causing symptoms or hemodynamic compromise, symptomatic aortic stenosis, uncontrolled symptomatic heart failure, acute pulmonary embolus, acute myocarditis or pericarditis, suspected or known dissecting aneurism and acute systemic infection.
  • Other inflammatory arthropathy or myopathy, Paget's disease, pigmented villonodular synovitis, joint infection, ochronosis, neuropathic arthropathy, osteochondromatosis, acromegaly, hemochromatosis, Wilson's disease, osteonecrosis, knee replacement.
  • Contraindicated Medicine: ticlopidine, clopidogrel, dipyridamole, warfarin, heparin, enoxaparin and other blood thinners.
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Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Not applicable
Intervention model
Single group
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
12 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    HIIT - RA

    All participants will undergo high intensity interval training 3x/week for 10-12 weeks. Intense exercise will be interspersed with appropriate rest periods of low intensity exercise

    Behavioral: HIIT

Interventions

  • BehavioralHIIT

    All participants will undergo high intensity interval training 3x/week for 10-12 weeks. Intense exercise will be interspersed with appropriate rest periods of low intensity exercise

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What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Change in Disease Activity Scores

    Time frame: Baseline and Post-Intervention (12-weeks)

Secondary outcomes

  1. Change in Peak Oxygen Consumption

    Time frame: Baseline and Post-Intervention (12-weeks)

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Study locations

1 site
  • Duke Molecular Physiology Institute
    Durham, North Carolina 27710, United States
08

References and documents

Publications

  • Andonian BJ, Koss A, Koves TR, Hauser ER, Hubal MJ, Pober DM, Lord JM, MacIver NJ, St Clair EW, Muoio DM, Kraus WE, Bartlett DB, Huffman KM. Rheumatoid arthritis T cell and muscle oxidative metabolism associate with exercise-induced changes in cardiorespiratory fitness. Sci Rep. 2022 May 6;12(1):7450. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-11458-4. PubMed 35523821 ↗
  • Andonian BJ, Johannemann A, Hubal MJ, Pober DM, Koss A, Kraus WE, Bartlett DB, Huffman KM. Altered skeletal muscle metabolic pathways, age, systemic inflammation, and low cardiorespiratory fitness associate with improvements in disease activity following high-intensity interval training in persons with rheumatoid arthritis. Arthritis Res Ther. 2021 Jul 10;23(1):187. doi: 10.1186/s13075-021-02570-3. PubMed 34246305 ↗
  • Andonian BJ, Bartlett DB, Huebner JL, Willis L, Hoselton A, Kraus VB, Kraus WE, Huffman KM. Effect of high-intensity interval training on muscle remodeling in rheumatoid arthritis compared to prediabetes. Arthritis Res Ther. 2018 Dec 27;20(1):283. doi: 10.1186/s13075-018-1786-6. PubMed 30587230 ↗
  • Bartlett DB, Willis LH, Slentz CA, Hoselton A, Kelly L, Huebner JL, Kraus VB, Moss J, Muehlbauer MJ, Spielmann G, Kraus WE, Lord JM, Huffman KM. Ten weeks of high-intensity interval walk training is associated with reduced disease activity and improved innate immune function in older adults with rheumatoid arthritis: a pilot study. Arthritis Res Ther. 2018 Jun 14;20(1):127. doi: 10.1186/s13075-018-1624-x. PubMed 29898765 ↗
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Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Dec 8, 2016, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
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Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT02528344
Lead sponsor
Duke University
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Aug 19, 2015
Start date
Sep 2015
Primary completion
Oct 2016
Last update
Dec 8, 2016

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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This study is completed, as verified in Jun 2016. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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