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Eysenck personality inventory L‐scores in patients with Hodgkin's disease and non‐Hodgkin's lymphoma
Author(s) -
Ratcliffe Marcia A.,
Dawson Audrey A.,
Walker Leslie G.
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
psycho‐oncology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.41
H-Index - 137
eISSN - 1099-1611
pISSN - 1057-9249
DOI - 10.1002/pon.2960040105
Subject(s) - eysenck personality questionnaire , personality , clinical psychology , disease , medicine , depression (economics) , anxiety , proportional hazards model , b symptoms , oncology , psychology , psychiatry , big five personality traits , social psychology , macroeconomics , economics , extraversion and introversion
Sixty‐three patients with Hodgkin's disease and non‐Hodgkin's lymphoma were followed up for exactly 5 years after first diagnosis. Survival analysis was carried out using the log‐rank test (univariate) and Cox's proportional hazards regression method (multivariate). Variables examined were: age at diagnosis; gender; stage; symptoms; type of disease; grade of tumour, performance status; presence or absence of hypnotherapy or relaxation training; Eysenck Personality Inventory L‐scores; and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale scores. At diagnosis, in keeping with previous studies, L‐scores were high. Although L‐scores can be raised for several reasons, the L‐scale may be a useful measure of the cancer‐prone (type C) personality. Moreover, as predicted, L‐scores were associated with an increased risk of death within 5 years; L‐scores emerged as an independent risk factor as did depression scores. A relaxation‐based intervention may also have enhanced survival. Replication in the lymphomas, and investigation in other cancers, should be carried out.