Whole-Body Cryotherapy Decreases the Levels of Inflammatory, Oxidative Stress, and Atherosclerosis Plaque Markers in Male Patients with Active-Phase Ankylosing Spondylitis in the Absence of Classical Cardiovascular Risk Factors

Table 1

Demographic data of the study subjects.

Characteristic	WBC group; ()	Kinesiotherapy group; ()	value
Age (years), mean (SD)	46.63 ± 1.5	45.94 ± 1.24	0.114
Sex (M/F)	16/0	16/0	—
BMI (kg/m^2), mean (SD)	24.24 ± 4.4	23.76 ± 6.8	0.880
BASDAI	5.43 ± 1.61	5.28 ± 1.71	0.720
BASFI	5.20 ± 2.29	5.01 ± 2.06	1.00
Carotid IMT (mm)	1.1 ± 0.13	1.0 ± 0.14	0.925
Smoking (yes/no)	0/16	0/16	—
Medication
NSAID (yes/no)	16/0	16/0	—
DMARD (yes/no)	0/16	0/16	—
Biological agents (yes/no)	0/16	0/16	—

SD: standard deviation; BMI: body mass index; BASDAI: the Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Diseases Activity Index; BASFI: the Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Functional Index; IMT: intima-media thickness; NSAID: nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug; DMARD: disease-modifying antirheumatic drug.