Background/Objectives: Some haematologists share the perception that patients with Hodgkin’s lymphoma (HL) behave and manifest emotional expressions in a characteristic way. Previous research suggested a unique personality profile in HL patients compared to the general population. This study aimed to analyse and compare the personality traits of HL and NHL patients to identify potential differences.Methods:In this cross-sectional, descriptive, multicentre and replicative study, we included patients with HL and NHL from the Spanish Group of Lymphoma (GELTAMO). Personality traits and other psychosocial variables were compared between these two groups and the reference population. We used a semi-structured interview to collect demographic and psychosocial variables, and the NEO Five-Factor Inventory to assess personality traits.Results:Our findings indicate that HL and NHL patients share similar personality profiles, suggesting that the perceived differences do not stem from personality factors. Significant differences were only observed in age (HL > NHL; age:p= 0.003). These results led us to propose a new explanatory hypothesis centred on ageism.Conclusions:Our results confirm that the personality profiles of patients with any type of lymphoma are consistent with each other and with those found in the broader cancer patient population, indicating that differences observed by clinicians might be due to perceptual biases. Age, as a differentiating factor between these patient groups, suggests ageism as a potential underlying cause of these biases. Further research is required to explore the clinical implications of such stereotypical perceptions among patients that could ultimately lead to issues with patient–provider relationships and patient safety.
背景/目的：部分血液科医生认为霍奇金淋巴瘤（HL）患者的行为和情绪表达具有特征性。既往研究表明，与普通人群相比，HL患者存在独特的人格特征。本研究旨在分析和比较HL与非霍奇金淋巴瘤（NHL）患者的人格特质，以识别潜在差异。 方法：在这项横断面、描述性、多中心及可重复性研究中，我们纳入了来自西班牙淋巴瘤研究组（GELTAMO）的HL和NHL患者。比较了两组患者之间及其与参考人群的人格特质及其他心理社会变量。我们采用半结构化访谈收集人口学及心理社会变量，并使用NEO五因素人格量表评估人格特质。 结果：研究结果显示，HL与NHL患者具有相似的人格特征，表明观察到的差异并非源于人格因素。两组仅在年龄上存在显著差异（HL患者年龄大于NHL患者；p=0.003）。这些结果促使我们提出以年龄歧视为核心的新解释假说。 结论：我们的研究证实，各类淋巴瘤患者的人格特征具有一致性，且与更广泛的癌症患者群体特征相符，提示临床医生观察到的差异可能源于认知偏差。年龄作为患者组间的区分因素，表明年龄歧视可能是这些偏差的潜在根源。需进一步研究探索此类刻板印象的临床意义，因其可能最终导致医患关系及患者安全问题。
From Clinical Perception to Implicit Bias: Understanding Personality Traits in Lymphoma Patients
肿瘤(癌症)患者之家