title: Psychological well-being and social support in chronic myeloid leukemia patients receiving lifelong targeted therapies.
abstract: The main objective of this study was to investigate whether social support is independently associated with psychological well-being in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) patients. Secondary objectives were to compare the psychological well-being profile of CML patients with that of their peers in general population and to examine possible age- and sex-related differences.
  
  
  
  Analysis was performed on 417 patients in treatment with lifelong molecularly targeted therapies. Mean age of patients analyzed was 56 years (range 19-87 years) and 247 (59 %) were male and 170 (41 %) were female. Social support was assessed with the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support and psychological well-being was evaluated with the short version of the Psychological General Well-Being Index. Descriptive statistics and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used.
  
  
  
  Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that a greater social support was independently associated with lower anxiety and depression, as well as with higher positive well-being, self-control, and vitality (p < 0.001). Female patients reported statistically significant worse outcomes in all dimensions of psychological well-being. Age- and sex-adjusted comparisons with population norms revealed that depression (ES = -0.42, p < 0.001) and self-control (ES = -0.48, p < 0.001) were the two main impaired psychological dimensions.
  
  
  
  This study indicates that social support is a critical factor associated with psychological well-being of CML patients treated with modern lifelong targeted therapies.
authors.affiliation: GIMEMA Data Center and Health Outcomes Research Unit, Italian Group for Adult Hematologic Diseases (GIMEMA), Via Benevento, 6, 00161, Rome, Italy. f.efficace@gimema.it.
authors.forename: Fabio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Efficace
authors.affiliation: Department of Biotechnologies and Hematology, University of Rome Sapienza, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Breccia
authors.affiliation: GIMEMA Data Center and Health Outcomes Research Unit, Italian Group for Adult Hematologic Diseases (GIMEMA), Via Benevento, 6, 00161, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cottone
authors.affiliation: Unidade de Hematologia, Hemoterapia e Oncologia (UHHO), Serviço de Transplante de Medula Óssea (STMO), Complexo Hospital de Clínicas da Universidade Federal do Paraná, Curitiba, Brazil.
authors.forename: Iris
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Okumura
authors.affiliation: Unidade de Hematologia, Hemoterapia e Oncologia (UHHO), Serviço de Transplante de Medula Óssea (STMO), Complexo Hospital de Clínicas da Universidade Federal do Paraná, Curitiba, Brazil.
authors.forename: Maribel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Doro
authors.affiliation: Hematology Unit, IRCCS Gaslini, Genoa, Italy.
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Riccardi
authors.affiliation: Department of Hematology-Oncology, University of Bologna, S. Orsola-Malpighi Hospital, Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Gianantonio
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Rosti
authors.affiliation: Department of Hematology-Oncology, University of Bologna, S. Orsola-Malpighi Hospital, Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Michele
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Baccarani
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015464:Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012944:Social Support; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Chronic myeloid leukemia; Leukemia; Psychological well-being; Social support; Target therapy; Tyrosine kinase inhibitors