Informal caregivers of advanced-stage cancer patients: Every second is at risk for psychiatric morbidity

• Published in: Supportive care in cancer Vol. 24; no. 5; pp. 1975 - 1982
• Main Authors: Rumpold, T., Schur, S., Amering, M., Kirchheiner, K., Masel, E. K., Watzke, H., Schrank, B.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01-05-2016; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adaptation, Psychological; Adult; Aged; Australia; Cancer; Cancer patients; Caregivers; Caregivers - psychology; Cost of Illness; Cross-Sectional Studies; Depression, Mental; Development and progression; Disease susceptibility; Female; Humans; Male; Medical research; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Medicine, Experimental; Mental Health; Middle Aged; Mood Disorders - diagnosis; Mood Disorders - etiology; Mood Disorders - prevention & control; Morbidity; Neoplasms - psychology; Neoplasms - therapy; Nursing; Nursing Research; Oncology; Oncology, Experimental; Original Article; Pain Medicine; Palliative care; Palliative Care - psychology; Post-traumatic stress disorder; Prevalence; Quality of Life; Rehabilitation Medicine; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - diagnosis; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - etiology; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - prevention & control; Stress, Psychological - prevention & control; Palliative care; Psychiatric morbidity; Burden; Caregiver; Mental health; Cancer
• ISSN: 0941-4355; 1433-7339
• DOI: 10.1007/s00520-015-2987-z

Purpose
Informal caregivers of advanced cancer patients are known to suffer from high distress due to their caregiving responsibilities. Nevertheless, a comprehensive evaluation of psychiatric morbidity is often missing in clinical practice due to time resources, and mental health problems may be unnoticed in this population. A feasible approach is needed to identify caregivers at risk for psychiatric disorders to offer targeted interventions and enhance their well-being.
Methods
This cross-sectional, multi-institutional study screened 345 caregivers of advanced cancer patients for psychiatric disorders (i.e., depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder, and alcohol abuse/dependence) and assessed factors potentially associated with mental health diagnoses (including socio-demographic factors, burden, hope, caring-related quality of life, and coping preferences).
Results
Overall, almost 52 % of participants had one or more suspected psychiatric disorders, with anxiety being the most prevalent. Perceived hope, higher burden, and more emotion-oriented coping were associated with psychiatric morbidity in this sample. Spouses and parents showed significantly more symptoms of psychiatric disorders than other relatives.
Conclusions
This study confirms the high risk of informal caregivers of advanced cancer patients to develop psychiatric disorders and suggests a practically feasible approach to identify at risk caregivers to offer support.