Physical and emotional well‐being of survivors of childhood and young adult allo‐SCT – A Danish national cohort study

The aim of this investigation was to examine, within a population‐based study of a national cohort comprising Danish survivors of allo‐SCT (n = 148), the long‐term effects of allo‐SCT in children and young adults. Physical and emotional well‐being was assessed using the Short Form 36 (SF‐36) and the HADS. Allo‐SCT‐related data were obtained from the participants' medical records. The study includes 148 patients, with an 89% response rate (n = 132). For comparison purposes, norm data from Danish (1994, n = 6000), Swedish (2006, n = 285), and British (2001, n = 1792) population samples were used. Factors negatively influencing the SF‐36 subscales included female gender; TBI; stem cells derived from PB; older age at time of questioning; and living alone. Factors significantly (p < 0.05) influencing HADS were transplantation with stem cells derived from PB and being underweight at time of questioning (median values were within normal range). Overall scores of allo‐SCT patients were similar to norm data. In conclusion, this national cohort study shows that patients treated with SCT in early life (<25) and whose survival period extended beyond 10 yr (mean) from SCT, showed similar levels of anxiety, depression, and physical and emotional well‐being to those of the normal population.