The Quality of Life of Patients With Different Leukemia Types

Leukemia is among the major causes of mortality and disability and the seventh most prevalent cancer worldwide. It has various effects on the biopsychosocial, reproductive, and economic performance of individuals. This study compared the Quality of Life (QoL) of hospitalized patients with different leukemia. 

This was a descriptive cross-sectional study. In total, 100 adolescent patients with leukemia hospitalized in Ayatollah Khansari Hospital in Arak City, Iran, were selected by purposive sampling method. The samples were evaluated for six months in 2018. The required data were collected by EORTC-QLQ-C30 Quality of Life questionnaire and analyzed by descriptive statistics (Mean±SD and frequency) and Chi-squared test, Fisher’s exact test, and t-test in SPSS. P≤0.5 was considered as significant. 

The overall QoL Mean±SD score was 62.2±12.59, which was at a relatively appropriate level. The Mean±SD scores of life quality were 60.10±14.31 for chronic lymphocytic leukemia, 59.51±12.83 for acute lymphocytic leukemia, 66.61±10.94 for chronic myeloid leukemia, and 62.84±6.33 for acute myeloid leukemia. There were significant differences between the total QoL and its dimensions in different leukemia types (P<0.05). There was also a significant relationship between age, residency, and marital status of the patients, and their total QoL (P<0.05).

Patients with myeloid leukemia had a better QoL, compared to those with lymphocytic leukemia. The patients had better performance in the physical area and weaker performance in social domain. The knowledge of nurses and other healthcare members about these findings could be used to promote care and improve the QoL of patients with different leukemia types.