title: Personality influences quality-of-life assessments in adult patients after allogeneic hematopoietic SCT: results from a joint evaluation of the prospective German Multicenter Validation Trial and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.
abstract: The influence of personality on health related quality of life (QoL) and physical functioning in the setting of allogeneic hematopoietic SCT (alloHSCT) is unknown. We conducted a joint evaluation within two independent cohorts of alloHSCT recipients to investigate the impact of personality on reported QoL and physical functioning. Two-hundred-eight patients (median age 44 years, range 18-72) of cohort 1 and 93 patients (median age 55 years, range 19-79) of cohort 2 after alloHSCT were evaluated. Personality was assessed using the 24-adjective measure (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 Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy with bone marrow transplantation subscale (FACT-BMT), Short Form 36 (SF-36), 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 the physician. The results suggest that personality traits and pre-treatment QoL assessments should be measured in clinical trials to facilitate the interpretation of QoL data.
authors.affiliation: Personality Psychology Unit, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Helmut Schmidt University/University of the Federal Armed Forces Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: P Y
authors.initials: PY
authors.lastname: Herzberg
authors.forename: S J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Heussner
authors.forename: F H A
authors.initials: FH
authors.lastname: Mumm
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Hilgendorf
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: von Harsdorf
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hemmati
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Rieger
authors.forename: H T
authors.initials: HT
authors.lastname: Greinix
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Freund
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Holler
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wolff
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology; D001317:Austria; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005858:Germany; D006086:Graft vs Host Disease / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D019337:Hematologic Neoplasms / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D018380:Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008875:Middle Aged; D000075384:Neuroticism; D010551:Personality; D010554:Personality Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011788:Quality of Life; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D014184:Transplantation, Homologous; D014861:Washington; D055815:Young Adult