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Abstract: Fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) is characterized by chronic widespread pain, fatigue, anxiety, depression, and sleep disturbances, significantly impairing quality of life and psychological well-being. Well-being therapy (WBT) is a brief psychotherapeutic intervention aimed at increasing well-being and optimizing functioning, which has proven effective in treating various conditions involving pain and psychological or psychiatric symptoms. We describe a case study of a 22-year-old university student experiencing FMS, highlighting the far-reaching effects of the condition on her quality of life. After eight sessions of WBT, there was a marked improvement in subjective well-being and euthymia, as well as a decrease in pain perception, improved ability to manage stress, reduced allostatic overload despite the presence of stressors, improved social relationships, and increased self-efficacy. The positive effects of WBT continued at 3-month follow-up, suggesting that WBT may represent a short-term effective intervention for patients with FMS., (Copyright © 2024 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background/aims: Relationships between loss of functioning, symptom burden, supportive care needs, and quality of life (QoL) have been suggested in cancer populations. This cross-sectional study further investigates these relationships through mediation analyses., Methods: A total of 276 advanced colorectal cancer (CRC) patients completed validated instruments to assess cancer-related functioning, symptoms, supportive care needs, and QoL. Pearson's correlations and multiple mediation models with bootstrapping method were performed., Results: QoL had negative correlations with supportive care needs, positive correlations with functioning measures, and negative correlations with symptom scales. Supportive care needs had negative correlations with functioning measures and positive correlations with symptom scales. Mediation analyses showed significant indirect effects of CRC-related functioning and symptoms on QoL through supportive care needs., Conclusions: Significant links between CRC-related loss of functioning, symptom burden, QoL, and supportive care needs have been established. Longitudinal studies are planned to clarify cause-and-effects relationships and establish sequences of events., (© 2022 S. Karger AG, Basel.)

Purpose: This study describes the supportive care needs in a consecutive sample of Italian colorectal cancer (CRC) patients, evaluating their quality of life and psychological morbidity., Methods: This study used a cross-sectional design and self-assessment procedures and was conducted in an ambulatory setting. Demographics, basic clinical features, supportive care needs, quality of life and psychological morbidity of 203 CRC patients were gathered., Results: Approximately the 80% of the patients experienced one or more moderate- or high-level unmet need, notably regarding psychological concerns (approximately the 20% presented also signs of anxiety and depression). Functional roles and cognitive functioning were low. Symptoms of fatigue, nausea and vomiting and financial issues were frequent. The severity of anxiety, depression and quality of life impairment was significantly different across different levels of needs according to a unique linear relation. Patients with moderate or high needs had more severe anxiety and depression and a lower quality of life (i.e., lower level of functioning and more severe symptoms) than those with no needs or low needs., Conclusions: The findings of this study suggest that meeting supportive care needs seems to improve psychological morbidity, functions and symptoms of CRC patients., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The presence of psychological distress has a negative impact not only on cancer patients' quality of life but also on the course of the disease, with slower recovery and increased morbidity. These issues are of particular importance in melanoma patients (MP), who remain at risk of disease progression for many years after diagnosis. This study aimed to investigate psychological distress, coping strategies, and their possible relationships with demographic-clinical features in patients with early-stage melanoma in follow-up. The investigation focused in particular on whether the psychological profile differed between patients at different melanoma stages. Data of 118 patients with melanoma in the Tis-Ia stages (MP_Tis-Ia) and 86 patients with melanoma in the Ib-IIa-IIb stages (MP_Ib-II) were gathered through a self-administered survey and compared using a cross-sectional design. The results evidenced a high percentage of anxiety (25%) and distress symptoms (44%), whereas depressive symptoms seemed less frequent (8%). Psychological distress was higher in women than in men, and in patients with a higher educational level. Nevertheless, no significant differences were found between MP_Tis-Ia and MP_Ib-II. With respect to coping style, the patients in this sample adopted predominantly positive and active strategies. Correlational analyses showed that maladaptive coping strategies such as behavioral disengagement, denial, self-distraction, and self-blame were most strongly related to increased levels of psychological distress. The high presence of anxiety and distress symptoms, their relationship, and the use of negative coping strategies underline the importance of psychological distress screening also in early-stage MP, including at long-term follow-up.

The purpose of this study was to show the different components of spirituality in the last few weeks of life for advanced cancer patients admitted to hospice and to evaluate quality of life (QoL), pain, anxiety, depression and psychological adjustment to cancer. One hundred and fifteen patients were interviewed with a series of rating scales: the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy - Spiritual Well-Being Scale, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, the Visual Analogue Scale for pain, the Brief Coping Orientation to Problem Experienced and the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy Scale - General Measure. Workers and single patients with higher education level showed a worse QoL. Moreover, anxiety and pain were negatively associated with QoL, while spirituality and 'Instrumental Support' coping style were positively associated with QoL. In the Italian sample, it was observed that when patients are close to death, faith is a more important component of spirituality than meaning/peace. This study confirms that QoL could be related to physical and psychological symptoms, and this reiterates the importance of faith in end-of-life care., (© 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Objectives: Fibromyalgia (FM) is a chronic syndrome characterised by widespread musculoskeletal pain associated with other symptoms like fatigue, stiffness, non-restorative sleep and psychological distress that strongly affects the quality of life in FM patients. While the psychological distress has been widely explored in FM, only a few studies investigated alexithymia, an emotional dysregulation trait., Aims: Evaluate the prevalence of alexithymia and psychological distress and their impact on patients quality of life., Methods: A battery of tests assessing alexithymia, depression, anxiety, emotional distress symptoms and the health related quality of life (HRQoL) was filled out by 55 female FM patients. After having analysed their prevalence, two regression analyses were performed in order to evaluate the role that alexithymia, depression, anxiety, emotional distress and pain characteristics have on quality of life of FM patients., Results: Results showed that a clinically relevant level of psychological distress was present in more than half of our sample, whereas alexithymic traits were present in 20% of the patients. Regression analyses showed that pain intensity, depression and current pain were the variables that best contribute to explain the physical component of the HRQoL while anxiety, depression and pain intensity were the variables that mainly contributed to explain the mental component of quality of life., Conclusions: These results underline the high prevalence of alexithymia in FM patients and the great impact of psychological symptoms on FM patients HRQoL. Wholistic care of FM patients which addresses both physical and psychological symptoms is needed.

Aim: The aim of the present study was to further test criterion validity and factorial validity of the McGIll Quality Of Life (MQOL) questionnaire, and to assess its reliability and sensitivity to clinical change in outpatients with HIV infection., Methods: The authors present a longitudinal study on a consecutive sample of 216 adults treated with HAART at the outpatient facility of an hospital-based tertiary care center in Italy. Patients completed the MQOL and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) both at baseline and follow-up assessments. Patients were classified into subgroups (improved, unchanged, worsened) based on change in BDI scores or CD4 count over time., Results: The pattern of correlation between MQOL subscales and the BDI was as hypothesised. A fairly simple factor structure emerged, with a striking resemblance between the factors and the MQOL subscales. The internal consistency of the MQOL and its subscales was high. The test-retest reliability in clinically unchanged patients was satisfactory. Sensitivity to change, as measured by Guyatt responsiveness statistic, was also satisfactory., Conclusions: This study contributed to building evidence of reliability and validity for the MQOL questionnaire, which may be particularly useful to assess the so-called "existential" aspects of QOL that are particularly relevant for patients infected with HIV.