Anxiety and depression predict unfavorable survival in acute myeloid leukemia patients

This study aimed to investigate the prevalence/severity of anxiety and depression, and also their correlations with clinical characteristics and survival profiles in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients. In all, 208 AML patients and 200 age and sex-matched healthy controls (HCs) were recruited in this study. Anxiety and depression were assessed by the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) in AML patients before initiating therapy and in HCs after being enrolled. Treatment response was assessed, and event-free survival (EFS), and also the overall survival (OS) were calculated. The HADS-anxiety score (P < .001), anxiety prevalence (P < .001), and anxiety severity (P < .001) were increased in AML patients than those in HCs. The HADS-depression score (P < .001), depression prevalence (P < .001), and also depression severity (P < .001) were higher in AML patients compared with HCs. No correlation of anxiety or depression with clinical characteristics was found in AML patients (all P > .05). Moreover, the anxiety (P = .178) and depression (P = .512) rates were similar between complete remission (CR) patients and non-CR patients. Additionally, the EFS was worse in anxiety patients compared with nonanxiety patients (P = .013). The OS was shorter in anxiety patients compared with nonanxiety patients (P = .015) and was also worse in depression patients compared with nondepression patients (P = .007). Anxiety and depression are much more frequent and severe in AML patients compared to HCs, and both of them predict unfavorable survival profiles in AML patients.