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Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the role of dispositional optimism (DO) as a predictor of health-related quality of life (HRQL) in a sample of upper aerodigestive tract cancer (UADT) patients. A prospective observational study design was used with a cohort of patients from one centre. DO was evaluated using a French version of the Life Orientation Test (the FLOT) translated and validated for this study. HRQL was evaluated using the EORTC QLQ-C30 prior to and 3 months following treatment. The association between FLOT ratings and HRQL was evaluated using linear multiple regression analysis and a two-way ANOVA with repeated measures. Baseline data were gathered on 101 subjects and follow-up data on 88 of these. The sample was dichotomized around the median FLOT score creating 'optimist' and 'pessimist' groups. Before treatment, optimists reported better role, cognitive and emotional function, less pain and fatigue and a better global rating of HRQL than did pessimists. Following treatment, optimists reported better role and cognitive functioning, less pain and better global HRQL than did pessimists. Pessimists reported a greater deterioration in the role domain following treatment than did optimists. At no point did pessimists rate HRQL better than optimists. The results suggest that optimism is associated with better HRQL in French UADT cancer patients.

Health-related quality of life in haematopoietic stem cell transplant survivors: a qualitative study on the role of psychosocial variables and response shifts

“…Both optimism and social support have previously been found to be related to better coping post-transplant and higher HRQOL following HSCT [9,[13][14][15] and in other patient groups [16][17][18][19][20][21]. Similarly, in an earlier qualitative study exploring the meaning of HRQOL for HSCT patients [22], seven themes were identified that positively influenced HRQOL, including social support, a positive attitude, and having goals, as identified in this study.…”

“…Patients described making downwards comparisons with fellow patients or hypothetical others who were worse off than themselves. For 5 (26% of 19), this was upsetting, as it brought home their own mortality, but for 9 (47% of 19), it also made them appreciate their situation and see it more positively, 'I just count myself as being lucky that I had a perfect match with me brother. People I've known haven't had matches with their own brothers and they've got matches-in fact one from America.…”

Optimism

“…Thus, optimism predicted resilience against distress during the full year. A study of head and neck cancer patients yielded similar results (Allison, Guichard, & Gilain, 2000). Patients were assessed before treatment and three months afterward.…”

Is Dispositional Optimism Associated with Fatigue in Breast Cancer Survivors?

“…Only a few studies have investigated the association between optimism and cancer-related fatigue in cancer patients (Allison, Guichard, & Gilain, 2000;Chambers et al, 2012;Kurtz, Kurtz, Given, & Given, 2008;Levkovich, Cohen, Pollack, Drumea, & Fried, 2015;Matthews et al, 2012), and the results are inconsistent. Only two of these studies found an association between a high level of optimism and lower levels of fatigue (Allison et al, 2000;Chambers et al, 2012). The reasons for this could be that the study samples included patients at various stages of their cancer treatment, different cancer diagnosis, or the inconsistencies may stem from methodological issues.…”