A group of 120 patients with rheumatoid arthritis or osteoarthritis volunteered to be subjects for this study of aerobic versus nonaerobic exercise. Patients were stratified by diagnosis and randomized into an exercise program of aerobic walking, aerobic aquatics, or nonaerobic range of motion (controls). The retention rate for the 12-week program was 83%. Exercise tolerance, disease-related measures, and self-reported health status were assessed. The aquatics and walking exercise groups showed significant improvement over the control group in aerobic capacity, 50-foot walking time, depression, anxiety, and physical activity after the 12-week exercise program. There were no significant betweengroup differences in the change scores for flexibility, number of clinically active joints, duration of morning stiffness, or grip strength. Our findings document the feasibility and efficacy of conditioning exercise for people who have rheumatoid arthritis or osteoarthritis.Physical inactivity is associated with increased risk for developing any of a number of degenerative and chronic conditions, the symptoms and findings of From the Departments of Medicine and Statistics, University of Missouri, Columbia.

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Objectives. This study examined whether pretreatment self‐efficacy and pre‐ to post‐treatment changes in self‐efficacy predict post‐treatment tender point index, disease severity, pain, and physical activity. Methods. One hundred nine subjects with fibromyalgia were assessed before and after a 6‐week training intervention. Measures included tender point index, physician ratings of disease severity, the visual analog scale for pain, the Physical Activities subscale of the Arthritis Impact Measurement Scales, and the Arthritis Self‐Efficacy Scale. Results. Pretreatment self‐efficacy significantly predicted post‐treatment physical activity, with higher selfefficacy associated with better physical activity outcome. Changes in self‐efficacy significantly predicted post‐treatment tender point index, disease severity, and pain; improvements in self‐efficacy were associated with better outcomes on each measure. Conclusions. Higher levels of self‐efficacy are associated with better outcome, and may mediate the effectiveness of rehabilitation‐based treatment programs for fibromyalgia.

A nonlinear relationship between the total area under the blood ethanol concentraton-tme curve and the orally administered dose (mg/kg) o/ ethanol was observed in fasting subjects. A preliminary model, based on physiological considerations~ was elaborated and shown, for the first time, to describe the entire time course of blood alcohol concentrations after four different doses of alcohol. The model could be refined by further experimentation.