{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,31]],"date-time":"2026-07-31T03:52:20Z","timestamp":1785469940797,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":39,"publisher":"Wiley","issue":"13","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,6,4]],"date-time":"2022-06-04T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1654300800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-nd\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["onlinelibrary.wiley.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Birth Defects Research"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2022,8]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title><jats:sec><jats:title>Background<\/jats:title><jats:p>As individuals with thalidomide embryopathy now reaching their 60's they undergo long\u2010term sequelae of their prenatal damage and experience a wide range of secondary health problems, in particular chronic musculoskeletal pain, movement restrictions, and mental disorders. These health problems are having a negative impact on their life circumstances and their health\u2010related quality of life (HRQOL).<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Objective<\/jats:title><jats:p>The aim of this study was to determine the HRQOL in individuals with thalidomide embryopathy in comparison to individuals of the age\u2010adjusted general population in Germany with and without chronic disease conditions (primary outcome). And, further explore the influence of impairment patterns, pain stage, and mental disorders on physical and mental dimensions of HRQOL (secondary outcome).<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title><jats:p>A cross\u2010sectional survey of 202 individuals with thalidomide embryopathy from North Rhine\u2010Westphalia\/Germany was conducted, which gathered information about physical examinations including a standardized determination of the pain stage, a structured psychological interview, and the HRQOL. The final dataset was 186 cases for primary outcome.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results<\/jats:title><jats:p>Individuals with thalidomide embryopathy (50.6\u2009years, 55.9% females) show a significantly reduced physical HRQOL comparison to the age\u2010adjusted German population with chronic diseases (physical component score; pcs: 33.4 vs. 45.3, <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\u00a0&lt;\u2009.001). In addition, male individuals with thalidomide embryopathy show a significantly reduced mental HRQOL to their male counterparts in this comparison (mental component score; mcs: 45.0 vs. 50.0, <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\u00a0=\u2009.005). The subgroup analyses show that individuals with thalidomide embryopathy with quadruple impairment have a significantly lower physical HRQOL than those with hearing loss (pcs: 25.0 vs. 38.5; ci's not overlapping). Second, individuals with thalidomide embryopathy with severe compared to mild stages of pain have significantly poorer levels of physical and mental HRQOL (pcs: 25.8 vs. 37.7, ci not overlapping; mcs: 40.4 vs. 51.8, ci's not overlapping). And, individuals with thalidomide embryopathy without a mental disorder show a high mental HRQOL (mcs: 53.2), while in comparison to the total sample those with somatoform and personality disorders have a significantly reduced physical HRQOL (pcs: 27.5 and 24.8; both ci's not overlapping), and those with depressive disorders have a significant reduced mental HRQOL (mcs: 38.0 vs. 45.8, ci's not overlapping).<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title><jats:p>A longitudinal decreasing HRQOL in individuals with thalidomide embryopathy is known, as well as high prevalence of mental disorders and chronic pain syndromes. This study shows a strong association between these two influencing factors and a poor HRQOL.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1002\/bdr2.2051","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,6,4]],"date-time":"2022-06-04T08:30:36Z","timestamp":1654331436000},"page":"714-724","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":6,"title":["Health\u2010related quality of life after 50\u2009years in individuals with thalidomide embryopathy: Evidence from a German cross\u2010sectional survey"],"prefix":"10.1002","volume":"114","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4042-6693","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Alexander","family":"Niecke","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne  Cologne Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Klaus M.","family":"Peters","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Orthopedics and Osteology Dr. Becker Rhein\u2010Sieg\u2010Klinik  N\u00fcmbrecht Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Adrienne","family":"Alayli","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute for Health Economics and Clinical Epidemiology, University of Cologne Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne  Cologne Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Markus","family":"L\u00fcngen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Business Management and Social Sciences Osnabr\u00fcck University of Applied Sciences  Osnabr\u00fcck Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Holger","family":"Pfaff","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Medical Sociology, Health Services Research and Rehabilitation Science University of Cologne  Cologne Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Christian","family":"Albus","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne  Cologne Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Christina","family":"Samel","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Medical Statistics and Computational Biology University of Cologne  Cologne Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"311","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,6,4]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_2_10_2_1","volume-title":"Statistics with confidence: Confidence intervals and statistical guidelines","author":"Altman D.","year":"2000"},{"key":"e_1_2_10_3_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/03093640600988567"},{"key":"e_1_2_10_4_1","unstructured":"EdworthySM EdworthyS WolbringG.Thalidomide survivors. 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