Social, emotional functioning better in survivors of childhood leukaemia

Compared with the general population, survivors of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) appear to have better social and emotional functioning, reports a new study.

Researchers enrolled 186 survivors (mean age 27.6 years) from whom quality of life (QoL) data had been measured using the Short Form Health Survey (SF-12) and the Quality of Life System Inventory (QLSI). Of the study participants, 180 were successfully matched by age and sex to population controls.

Survivors scored a mean of 79.52 on the social functioning scale of SF-12, while general population comparators scored only 70.49 points on average. The difference was statistically significant (p=0.0002). Similarly, ALL survivors had superior role-emotional scores (mean, 78.28 vs 68.84; p=0.003).

Moreover, childhood ALL survivors also had significantly better scores in the mental component summary (mean, 47.31 vs 43.41; p=0.0001) and vitality (mean, 61.06 vs 54.51; p=0.002) subscales.

Meanwhile, both groups had similar outcomes in the physical functioning, role-physical, bodily pain, general health, and mental health domains. The physical component summary score was also comparable between groups.

QLSI results showed that ALL survivors tended to be happier than controls in terms of social relations. In contrast, controls were most unhappy, as compared with survivors, in the domains of money, love life, self-esteem, nutrition, and paid work.

“Interventions for improving QoL outcomes, might build on existing positive experiences with family, friends, and partners,” the researchers said.