Psychological Distress in Young Adults with Acute Myeloid Leukemia Undergoing Induction Chemotherapy.

Young adults (YAs), aged 18-39 years, with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) navigate life disruptions amid an unpredictable illness trajectory. We conducted a secondary analysis of patient-reported outcomes for hospitalized YAs with high-risk AML receiving intensive chemotherapy, collected during a multisite randomized clinical trial. Of the 160 patients, 14 (8.8%) were YAs. At week 2 of hospitalization, YAs demonstrated significant worse quality of life (β = -18.27;  = 0.036), higher anxiety (β = 2.72;  = 0.048), and higher post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD; β = 10.34;  = 0.007) compared with older adults. Our analysis demonstrated a longitudinal presence of anxiety and PTSD, suggesting persistent unmet psychological needs for YAs with AML.