The aim of this study was to develop a Turkish version of the Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI) and assess its reliability, validity, and sensitivity to change. The Turkish version was obtained after a translation and back-translation process. Seventy-one patients with ankylosing spondylitis were assessed with it. To assess its validity, patients were also evaluated with the Turkish version of the Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Functional Index (BASFI), the Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Metrology Index (BASMI), the Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Patient Global Score (BAS-G), and physicians' assessments of disease activity. Over 24 h, the Turkish BASDAI did not show significant differences between the two assessments (P>0.05). Correlations were found between BASDAI and all of the evaluation parameters except BASMI (P<0.01). Both BASDAI and BASMI showed significant improvements after 8-week home exercise programmes. The results of this study show that the Turkish version of the BASDAI is reliable, valid, and sensitive to change.

Pain relief should be the priority of treatment along with the prevention of joint movement restriction to ensure a sufficient quality of life for surgically treated breast cancer patients.

Comorbid diseases are common among patients after stroke. They were shown to have a negative correlation with functional outcome; however, their impact on functional outcome was not clear. The proper evaluation of comorbid conditions should be included in stroke outcome research.

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This study was designed to evaluate (a) the frequency of fatigue and its multi-dimensional nature, and (b) its association with demographic variables, disease-specific variables, and other variables, covering depression and sleep disturbance in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS). Sixty-two patients with AS were included in the study. Fatigue was assessed by the fatigue item of the Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI) and the Multidimensional Fatigue Symptom Inventory-Short Form (MFSI-SF). While the disease activity was evaluated by the BASDAI, the functional state was assessed by Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Functional Index, metrological measurements by Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Metrology Index, global well-being by Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Global Score, the pain on rest by VAS (0-10 cm), sleep disturbance by Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, and depressive symptoms by Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale. Fifty percent of the patients had severe fatigue. Multi-dimensional assessment with MFSI-SF enabled us to identify fatigue in more detail. The disease-specific variables, covering pain, stiffness, disease activity, and physical functioning, contributed significantly with both BASDAI fatigue and MFSI-SF as dependent variables, accounting for 61.3% and 44.7% of the variance, respectively. Disease activity was the most powerful predictor of both single-dimensioned and multi-dimensioned fatigue. It was also found that the contribution of depression on fatigue was 12%. In conclusion, it was observed that half of the patients had severe fatigue, and multi-dimensional assessment was provided to understand specific aspects of fatigue better. Even though disease activity had a considerable effect on fatigue, the effects of psychogenic factors, especially depression, should be taken into consideration in the management of AS.