Psychophysiological responses to stress after stress management training in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Background: Stress management interventions may prove useful in preventing the detrimental effects of stress on health. This study assessed the effects of a stress management intervention on the psychophysiological response to stress in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods: Seventy-four patients with RA, who were randomly assigned to either a control group or a group that received short-term stress management training, performed a standardized psychosocial stress task (Trier Social Stress Test; TSST) 1 week after the stress management training and at a 9-week follow-up.

Tailored cognitive-behavioral therapy and exercise training for high-risk patients with fibromyalgia.

Objective: The treatment of patients with fibromyalgia (FM), a high-prevalence chronic pain condition with a high impact on both patients and society, poses a great challenge to clinicians due to a lack of effective treatments. In view of the large individual variability in outcome, selecting patients at risk of long-term dysfunction and offering tailored treatment may be promising for beneficial treatment effects.

Methods: High-risk patients were selected and classified into 2 groups (pain-persistence and pain-avoidance groups) and subsequently randomized in groups to either a treatment condition (TC) or a waiting list control condition (WLC).

A patient's perspective on multidisciplinary treatment gain for fibromyalgia: an indicator for pre-post treatment effects?

Objective: Increasing attention is devoted to the patient's perspective in clinical research and practice. However, the relationship between the patient's view on treatment progress and standardized pre-post changes in health outcomes is not well understood. The objective of this study was to investigate whether the patient's perception of treatment gain converges with pre-post treatment effects of a multidisciplinary treatment as assessed by standardized self-report measures.

Risk factors for longer term psychological distress in well-functioning fibromyalgia patients: a prospective study into prognostic factors.

Objective: Psychological distress is a key risk factor for long-term complaints in fibromyalgia (FM). Prognostic factors for psychological distress might facilitate an early identification of patients at risk to help prevent long-term dysfunction, especially for the relatively well-functioning patients showing little distress who are usually not considered for treatment. This study hence examines potential prognostic factors in this subgroup.