Abstract
BackgroundAcute leukemia (AL) not only impairs the quality of life (QOL) of patients, but also affects that of their family caregivers (FCs). Studies on QOL of AL patients and their FCs are limited. This study aimed to evaluate the QOL of AL patients and their FCs, and to explore the factors associated with QOL of patients and of FCs.MethodsA multicenter cross-sectional study was conducted. The QOL of 196 patient–FC dyads was assessed. The Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Leukemia (FACT-Leu) was used for patients, and the 36-item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) was used for FCs. Independent-samples t-tests or one-way analysis of variance were used to compare QOL subscale scores between groups with different sociodemographic/clinical characteristics. Multiple regression analysis was conducted to identify the factors associated with QOL of AL patients and their FCs.ResultsThe total FACT-Leu score for AL patients was 76.80 ± 16.44, and the physical component summary (PCS) and mental component summary (MCS) scores for FCs were 64.67 ± 15.44 and 52.50 ± 13.49, respectively. All QOL subscales for patients (t = 12.96–34.73, p < 0.001) and FCs (t = 2.55–14.36, p < 0.05), except role emotional (t = − 0.01, p = 0.993), were lower than those reported in previous studies. Sex, employment, and chemotherapy were significantly associated with total FACT-Leu score in AL patients (p < 0.05). Age, sex, marital status, education, employment, and relationship to patients were significantly associated with SF-36 PCS or MCS (p < 0.05).ConclusionsAL patients and their FCs both have lower QOL than the population in previous studies. These findings suggest that not only AL patients’ physical and mental health but also overall family QOL should be assessed. Interventions supporting patient–FC dyads should be developed to improve their QOL.
Highlights
Acute leukemia (AL) impairs the quality of life (QOL) of patients, and affects that of their family caregivers (FCs)
Health-related QOL is defined as the status of physical, emotional and psychological wellbeing [10]
The findings of this study indicate that AL patients have a lower QOL on all subscales compared with those reported by a previous study conducted in the USA [41]
Summary
Acute leukemia (AL) impairs the quality of life (QOL) of patients, and affects that of their family caregivers (FCs). Studies on QOL of AL patients and their FCs are limited. Wang et al Health and Quality of Life Outcomes (2020) 18:8 complex array of challenges that threaten their physical, psychological, and spiritual well-being [7,8,9]. QOL assessment enables comprehensive evaluation of an illness’s interference with an individual’s adaptive functioning and can take into account the person’s values, perspectives, satisfaction, living conditions, accomplishments, functionality, cultural context, and spirituality. Health-related QOL is defined as the status of physical, emotional and psychological wellbeing [10]. It is recommended that health-related QOL is evaluated along with clinical and laboratory indicators [11]. Evaluating health-related QOL informs an integral part of treatment effectiveness [12] and burden of disease [13]
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