ArticleBMC musculoskeletal disorders2022
Sustained improvements in EQ-5D utility scores and self-rated health status in patients with ankylosing spondylitis after spa treatment including low-dose radon - an analysis of prospective radon indication registry data.
Article in BMC musculoskeletal disorders, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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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.
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 6 citations in OpenAlex.
- Health state utility values in patients with Ankylosing Spondylitis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation · 2024Pooled it
- Radon Spa Therapy for the Treatment of Musculoskeletal Disorders: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Cureus · 2026Review
- A register-based, epidemiological evaluation of disease activity and functional performance in ankylosing spondyloarthritis patients after multimodal spa therapy in Austria.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Article
- Social Return on Investment of Social Prescribing via a Diabetes Technician for Preventing Type 2 Diabetes Progression.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
12 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPatients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) have significantly lower quality of life (QoL) than the general population. Holistic interventions addressing QoL comprise spa- or balneotherapy including radon. These interventions have shown to be beneficial in reducing pain and improving QoL in AS-patients. We explored the association of spa-therapy including low-dose radon with QoL in AS-patients over an extended time period.
methodsRegistry data collected for the "Radon indication registry" in the Austrian Gastein valley comprising data on QoL (EuroQol EQ-5D) directly before the treatment (baseline), directly(t1), 3 (t2); 6(t3) and 9(t4) months after the treatment, age, sex and body mass index (BMI) were analysed. Linear regression models explored the association of measurement time with 1) EQ-5D-5L utilities and 2) EuroQol visual analogue scale (VAS) score. Alterations of 0.05 (utilities) and 5.00 (VAS) were considered clinically relevant.
resultsTwo-hundred-ninety-one AS-patients were included in the analyses. Forty-four percent (n = 128) were women, the mean age was 52 (SD 10) and the average BMI was 26 (SD 4). Utilities (t1: 0.09 [0.07;0.11]; t2: 0.08 [0.06; 0.10]; t3: 0.06 [0.05;0.09]; t4: 0.04 [0.02;0.06]) and VAS (t1: 11.68 [9.38; 13.97]; t2: 12.20 [9.78; 14.61]; t3: 9.70 [7.24; 12.17]; t4: 6.11 [3.57; 8.65]) were significantly higher at all timepoints compared to baseline. Improvements were clinically relevant at all timepoints in case of the VAS and until 6 months after treatment for the utilities.
conclusionAS-patients who received spa therapy including radon show significantly and clinically relevant improvements in Qol until 6-9 months after treatment.
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