Personality influences quality of life assessments in adult patients after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation – Results from a joint evaluation of the prospective German Multicenter Validation Trial and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center

摘要

The influence of personality on health related quality of life (QoL) and physical functioning in the setting of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (alloHSCT) is unknown. We conducted a joint evaluation within two independent cohorts of alloHSCT recipients to investigate the impact of personality on reported quality of life and physical functioning.Two-hundred-eight patients (median age 44 years, range 18–72) (cohort 1) and 93 patients (median age 55 years, range 19–79) (cohort 2) after alloHSCT were evaluated. Personality was assessed using the 24-AM, which measures the Big-Five personality domains and the Life Orientation Test-Revised (LOT-R), measuring optimism and pessimism. QoL was measured using the FACT-BMT, SF36, the human activity profile (HAP) as well as the NIH criteria based cGVHD activity assessment form and the Lee cGVHD symptom-scale.Neuroticism was significantly associated with worse function measured by the HAP and FACT-BMT. Optimism significantly improved QoL captured by the FACT-BMT. Pessimism significantly impaired physical function captured by the HAP and SF-36. Extraversion was significantly associated with reduced depression and lower severity of cGVHD symptoms reported by the patient and physician.The results suggest that personality traits and pre-treatment QoL assessments should be measured in clinical trials to facilitate interpretability of QoL data.