Our weekly round-up of the latest research from recent medical conferences.
CBT improves symptom tolerance in RA
CBT can substantially improve how rheumatoid arthritis patients deal with fatigue, anxiety and depression, at least in the short term.
A UK randomised controlled trial of 127 patients found that two-hour weekly group sessions for six weeks not only reduced fatigue but also enabled patients to deal with it better than patients who were given a leaflet.
British Society for Rheumatology annual conference. Oral presentation 37.
Chronic pain linked to cardiovascular risk
Cardiovascular risk factors are more common in people with chronic pain than those without.
Data from 8,093 UK individuals showed chronic pain in general was weakly associated with dyslipidaemia, smoking and obesity, but the link was very strong in those with more intense or widespread pain.
British Society for Rheumatology annual conference. Oral presentation 17.
Adult weight gain linked to breast cancer
Adult weight gain is related to a substantially increased risk of postmenopausal breast cancer, say researchers from the US National Cancer Institute.
Data from 72,000 women aged 55-74 showed that an increase in BMI of 5kg/m2 or more from ages 20-50 was linked with an 88% increase in breast cancer risk.
American Association of Cancer Research annual conference No 4823
