{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,23]],"date-time":"2026-07-23T20:13:51Z","timestamp":1784837631864,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":30,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"22","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,20]],"date-time":"2025-11-20T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1763596800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["JCM"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Lumbar disc herniation (LDH) has a substantial impact on health-related quality of life (HRQoL), mainly through pain, reduced mobility, and functional limitations. To better reflect these outcomes, we utilized the SF-36 survey, a well-established tool commonly used in both clinical and population research. The purpose was twofold: to evaluate HRQoL and to explore the main factors linked with activity limitation in a community-based group of Romanian patients. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 120 participants with LDH who completed the SF-36 questionnaire. Internal consistency was high (Cronbach\u2019s \u03b1 = 0.922). Descriptive statistics, Chi-square tests, t-tests, and multivariate regressions were performed using SPSS 18.0. Results: Of the respondents, 53.3% were female and 58.4% were over 60 years old. While 55% reported good or very good health, 26.7% had severe Daily Activity Limitation (DAL) based on the SF-36 physical function score, and 62.5% scored in the poorer range (33\u201345) of the Physical and Emotional Status (PES) composite derived from the SF-36. Female sex and age over 60 were each associated with nearly a twofold-higher risk of moderate-to-severe DAL (OR = 2.20, 95% CI: 1.04\u20134.65), while reporting severe or very severe pain increased this risk more than fourfold (OR = 4.64, 95% CI: 1.89\u201324.21). Conclusions: In patients with LDH, poor self-rated health, older age, female sex, and high pain intensity were significantly associated with reduced functional capacity. The SF-36 proved to be a valuable tool for identifying vulnerable subgroups that require targeted rehabilitation and psychosocial support. From a public health perspective, these findings also support the use of SF-36 in community screening and in guiding resource allocation for multidisciplinary rehabilitation programs.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/jcm14228258","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,21]],"date-time":"2025-11-21T09:50:26Z","timestamp":1763718626000},"page":"8258","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Associations Between Health-Related Quality of Life and Clinical Factors in Lumbar Disc Herniation: Evidence from a Romanian Cohort Using the SF-36"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0002-3092-2324","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"M\u0103d\u0103lina","family":"Duceac (Covrig)","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Doctoral School of Biomedical Sciences, \u201cDun\u0103rea de Jos\u201d University of Gala\u021bi, 47 Domneasc\u0103 Street, 800008 Gala\u021bi, Romania"},{"name":"\u201cProf. Dr. Nicolae Oblu\u201d Emergency Clinical Hospital, 2 Ateneului Street, 700309 Ia\u0219i, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Salim","family":"Camer","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, Ovidius University of Constanta, 1 University Street, 900470 Constan\u021ba, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3095-3497","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Irina Luciana","family":"Gurzu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Preventive Medicine and Interdisciplinarity, Faculty of Medicine, Grigore T. Popa University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 700115 Ia\u0219i, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2710-7284","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Alina","family":"Ple\u0219ea-Condratovici","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, \u201cDun\u0103rea de Jos\u201d University of Gala\u021bi, 47 Domneasc\u0103 Street, 800008 Gala\u021bi, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Liviu","family":"Stafie","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Preventive Medicine and Interdisciplinarity, Faculty of Medicine, Grigore T. Popa University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 700115 Ia\u0219i, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1652-2618","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Leti\u021bia Doina","family":"Duceac","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"\u201cProf. Dr. Nicolae Oblu\u201d Emergency Clinical Hospital, 2 Ateneului Street, 700309 Ia\u0219i, Romania"},{"name":"Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, \u201cDun\u0103rea de Jos\u201d University of Gala\u021bi, 47 Domneasc\u0103 Street, 800008 Gala\u021bi, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lucian","family":"Eva","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"\u201cProf. Dr. Nicolae Oblu\u201d Emergency Clinical Hospital, 2 Ateneului Street, 700309 Ia\u0219i, Romania"},{"name":"Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, \u201cDun\u0103rea de Jos\u201d University of Gala\u021bi, 47 Domneasc\u0103 Street, 800008 Gala\u021bi, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1834-9142","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Bogdan","family":"Gurzu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Morfofunctional Sciences II, Faculty of Medicine, Grigore T. Popa University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 700115 Ia\u0219i, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"M\u0103d\u0103lina Nicoleta","family":"Matei","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, \u201cDun\u0103rea de Jos\u201d University of Gala\u021bi, 47 Domneasc\u0103 Street, 800008 Gala\u021bi, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ciprian Adrian","family":"Dinu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, \u201cDun\u0103rea de Jos\u201d University of Gala\u021bi, 47 Domneasc\u0103 Street, 800008 Gala\u021bi, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0000-5081-3577","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Cristian","family":"Gu\u021bu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, \u201cDun\u0103rea de Jos\u201d University of Gala\u021bi, 47 Domneasc\u0103 Street, 800008 Gala\u021bi, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Doina Carina","family":"Voinescu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, \u201cDun\u0103rea de Jos\u201d University of Gala\u021bi, 47 Domneasc\u0103 Street, 800008 Gala\u021bi, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,20]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"473","DOI":"10.1097\/00005650-199206000-00002","article-title":"The MOS 36-item short-form health survey (SF-36). 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