Psychological Distress in Young Adults with Acute Myeloid Leukemia Undergoing Induction Chemotherapy

• Published in: Journal of adolescent and young adult oncology Vol. 12; no. 4; p. 592
• Main Authors: Lockwood, Bethany J, El-Jawahri, Areej, Walker, Alison R, Ehrman, Sarah, Russell, Deborah, Kale, Sachin S, Gustin, Jillian, Bose-Brill, Seuli, LeBlanc, Thomas W, Luger, Selina M, Lustberg, Maryam, Bhatnagar, Bhavana
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01.08.2023
• Subjects: anxiety; post-traumatic stress disorder; acute myeloid leukemia; induction chemotherapy; psychological distress
• ISSN: 2156-535X
• DOI: 10.1089/jayao.2022.0082

Young adults (YAs), aged 18-39 years, with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) navigate life disruptions amid an unpredictable illness trajectory. We conducted a secondary analysis of patient-reported outcomes for hospitalized YAs with high-risk AML receiving intensive chemotherapy, collected during a multisite randomized clinical trial. Of the 160 patients, 14 (8.8%) were YAs. At week 2 of hospitalization, YAs demonstrated significant worse quality of life (β = -18.27;  = 0.036), higher anxiety (β = 2.72;  = 0.048), and higher post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD; β = 10.34;  = 0.007) compared with older adults. Our analysis demonstrated a longitudinal presence of anxiety and PTSD, suggesting persistent unmet psychological needs for YAs with AML.