title: Is quality of life affected by season and weather conditions in ankylosing spondylitis?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine the links between the quality of life (QOL) and season and weather conditions in ankylosing spondylitis (AS) patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cohort of 146 AS patients (67% males), with a mean age of 47.3 years and a mean disease duration of 12.8 years, answered a self-administered questionnaire, the AS-AIMS2 validated for AS, 4 times over a period of one year in a postal survey. Clinical measures were assessed in a subsample of the cohort. Meterological data including daily temperature, hygrometry, wind speed and atmospheric pressure were collected over the same period.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In this cohort, 106 patients completed the follow-up. A higher lumbar spine flexibility (Schober index) was associated with a higher climatic temperature and lower wind speed. Physical QOL improved in the summer, as did Social Interaction in the summer and fall, while Role QOL decreased in winter. A lower perceived QOL was significantly associated with a higher temperature and wind speed over the past 4 weeks, and with a higher hygrometry and atmospheric pressure over the past 2 days prior to completion of the questionnaire.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study provides some support to the popular belief and frequent patient complaints of a link between health status and perceived quality of life, as assessed by a specific questionnaire, with season and weather conditions.
authors.affiliation: Département d'Informatique Médicale, Hôpital Minjoz, CHU Besançon, France.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Challier
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Urlacher
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Vançon
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Lemelle
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pourel
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Guillemin
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011788:Quality of Life; D012621:Seasons; D013167:Spondylitis, Ankylosing / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014887:Weather