The aim of this work was to identify possible relationships between chronic Graft versus host disease (GVHD), quality of life and psychosocial adjustment in patients submitted to hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). A cross-sectional correlation study was performed of a sample of 62 patients submitted to HSCT. To collect data we used the following instruments: Questionnaire for post-HSCT data, SF-36, FACT-BMT, HAD and LSSI. The standardized instruments were applied individually and the results listed according to the recommendations made in the literature for each technique, with the exception of the Post-HSCT questionnaire; this was recorded and later the contents accurately transcribed in full and the replies were submitted to thematic content analysis. The results obtained in other instruments were statistically analyzed to assess associations between variables and their respective degrees of statistical significance. The variable GVHD is predictive of a poorer quality of life and greater susceptibility to anxiety (χ2 = 4.56; p = 0.03) as patients suffering from GVHD had lower rates in most domains of the quality of life. This finding of a drop in the quality of life after HSCT is an indicator that should be taken into account by the healthcare team, as HSCT is becoming more and more important as a therapeutic option for many serious disease.
Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation; Quality of life; Graft vs host disease
