title: Social support and survival in patients with acute myeloid leukaemia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of the study was to assess the effect of the reported availability of social support on the 2-year survival of patients with acute myelogenous leukaemia (AML).
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty patients with newly diagnosed AML were asked to rate the level of available social support after diagnosis was made, but before the start of chemotherapy. Social support was assessed with the F-SozU, and information about confounding variables (age, functional status, intensity of chemotherapy, cytogenetic risk group) was collected. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were used to analyze predictors of 2-year survival.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Higher levels of available social support predicted better survival, even after controlling for age, functional status, dosage of chemotherapy, and cytogenetic risk group. Within social support, the availability of instrumental support showed more consistent associations with 2-year survival than the availability of emotional support.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  For patients with AML, the availability of social support is relevant for decreased mortality, after accounting for age, functional impairment, dosage of chemotherapy and cytogenetic risk group.
authors.affiliation: Department of Developmental Psychology and Center for Applied Developmental Science, Friedrich Schiller University, 07743, Jena, Germany. Martin.Pinquart@uni-jena.de
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pinquart
authors.forename: Klaus
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Höffken
authors.forename: Rainer K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Silbereisen
authors.forename: Ulrich
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Wedding
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007951:Leukemia, Myeloid / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000401:mortality / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D012944:Social Support; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D015996:Survival Rate
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents