In a new study—published by Walrabenstein et al in Rheumatology—researchers discovered that the “Plants for Joints” (PFJ) multidisciplinary lifestyle program may be effective at reducing disease activity in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, according to a report from HCPLive. In the parallel-arm, assessor-blind, randomized controlled trial, patients were randomly assigned to the PFJ group, in which they adopted lifestyle changes—observing plant-based or Mediterranean diets, participating in physical exercise programs, and practicing stress relief—or the control group, in which they received usual care. The research team measured both groups’ Disease Activity Score-28 before and after a period of 16 weeks. Before the trial, all patients had scores between 2.6 and 5.1; however, after implementing the lifestyle changes for 16 weeks, patients in the PFJ intervention group saw reductions in their disease activity scores by 0.9 points vs the control group. Additionally, the researchers noted that the patients who followed the PFJ program also saw improvements in their low-density lipoprotein and hemoglobin A1C levels, fat mass, waist circumference, and body weight. The researchers concluded that “The program is readily compatible with drug therapy and could potentially lower the need for medication for [patients with rheumatoid arthritis].”