Relative muscle mass is preserved during weight loss in rheumatoid arthritis: a

David A Kellner, Joshua F Baker, Sitaram Vangala, David A Elashoff, Jin Long, Veena K Ranganath

Registry-linked trialAbstract read

In one paragraph

Article in Rheumatology advances in practice, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT02881307 (Ultrasound Assessment of Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients Who Changed Diet), which is not on this map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it

0cells of the map it votes in

0citing papers in PubMed

–field-weighted citation impact

1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT02881307 nacompletednot on this map

Ultrasound Assessment of Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients Who Changed Diet

TypeinterventionalSponsorVeena Ranganath, MD, MSRan2016 to 2022Enrolled40ConditionsRheumatoid Arthritis, OverweightArmsWhey Protein&Prebiotic Supplement, Dietary Counseling, Dietary recommendations

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

David A KellnerDepartment of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6510-364X

Joshua F BakerDivision of Rheumatology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0799-7563

Sitaram VangalaDepartment of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.

David A ElashoffDepartment of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5865-8580

Jin LongCenter for Artificial Intelligence in Medicine and Imaging, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.

Veena K RanganathDepartment of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3417-9478

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Objectives: Obesity and sarcopenia commonly coexist in RA, compounding metabolic risk and disability. Intentional weight loss may improve outcomes but raises concern for accelerated muscle loss. We conducted a Methods: Adults with RA and obesity were randomized to a 12-week hypocaloric, high-protein diet or to control dietary advice (NCT02881307). DXA was performed at baseline and 12 weeks. Fat mass index (FMI), appendicular lean mass index (ALMI) and adiposity-adjusted ALMI (ALMI Results: Participants in the dietary intervention achieved significant reductions in total fat mass (mean change in FMI Z-score -0.35 Conclusion: In adults with RA and obesity, diet-induced weight loss reduced adiposity without evidence of disproportionate muscle loss. These findings support the safety of structured, protein-adequate weight-loss interventions in this population.

Indexed as

body compositiondietobesityRAsarcopeniaweight loss

Identifiers

PMID42472055

DOI10.1093/rap/rkag080

PMCPMC13379703

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata

LicenceCC BY-NC

Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

NCT02881307ClinicalTrials.gov

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.