Quality of life assessment in multiple myeloma patients – preliminary report

Introduction
Multiple myeloma (MM) is a result of abnormal proliferation of plasma cells, and it represents approximately 10% of all new haematological neoplasms. MM is connected with overproduction of abnormal antibodies, which can lead to hyperviscosity syndrome and impaired microvascular circulation.

Material and methods
We report a study of 95 patients (61 women and 34 men) with multiple myeloma. The mean age was 62.34 ±8.52 years. In the research we used the following questionnaire: a questionnaire of the patient’s physical state (the Karnofsky scale), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale, and the QLQ-MY20 scale to assess patients’ quality of life.

Results
Analysis of results and collected data showed that nearly 50% patients had noticeable anxiety disorders, while almost 30% presented symptoms of depression in the HADS scale. Additionally, analysis of data obtained using the Zung scale revealed that more than 50% of the examined patients had depression symptoms of varying degrees of severity. We indicated significant correlation between patients’ age and depression symptoms in the Zung scale (p < 0.001). Patients with more severe pain, depression symptoms, and lower physical state complained of significantly lower quality of life (p < 0.05).

Conclusions
Intensity of pain and number of painful areas significantly reduce the quality of life. Reduction of physical state and severity of depression symptoms have a significant negative influence on quality of life. Older patients complain about more severe depression symptoms.