Resilience in patients with lymphoid malignancies: The REPLY study

The role of resilience in lymphoid malignancies is not fully elucidated. The aims of this cross-sectional study were to investigate resilience and to explore its relationships with quality of life and mental health outcomes in patients with lymphoid malignancies, in a University Hospital in Uruguay. RS-14 Resilience Scale, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and EQ-5D-5L scale were used. Results: 106 patients were enrolled: 77 non-Hodgkin lymphoma, 16 Hodgkin lymphoma and 13 chronic lymphocytic leukemias. The median RS-14 score was 85.5 (95% CI: 82.4–88.2), corresponding to a ‘moderately high’ level of resilience. Resilience negatively correlated with anxiety (r = –0.487, P < 0.01) and depression (r = –0.607, P < 0.01), and positively correlated with quality of life as assessed by the EQ-VAS (r = 0.507, P < 0.001) and EQ-index (r = 0.345, P < 0.001). When further exploring the dimensions within the EQ-5D system we found that high resilience patients reported significantly less problems than moderate and low resilience patients. Moreover, among patients who did not report problems in any of the dimensions (i.e.: EQ-index = 1), 66.7% were high resilients, 26.7% moderate and 6.7% were low resilients, further highlighting the importance of resilience in the ability to cope with the disease. In conclusion, resilience could be a protective factor for patients with lymphoid malignancies. Stimulating resilience through specific interventions could positively impact their quality of life.