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

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Abstract

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.

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Acknowledgments

We hereby want to thank all contributing study sites for their cooperation and provision of data.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Palliative Care, Department of Internal Medicine I, Medical University of Vienna, Waehringer Guertel 18-20, 1090, Vienna, Austria

    T. Rumpold, S. Schur, E. K. Masel & H. Watzke

  2. Division of Social Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical University of Vienna, Waehringer Guertel 18-20, 1090, Vienna, Austria

    M. Amering

  3. Department of Radiation Oncology, Medical University of Vienna, Waehringer Guertel 18-20, 1090, Vienna, Austria

    K. Kirchheiner

  4. Department of Medical Education, Medical University of Vienna, Waehringer Guertel 18-20, 1090, Vienna, Austria

    B. Schrank

Authors
  1. T. Rumpold
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  2. S. Schur
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  3. M. Amering
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  4. K. Kirchheiner
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  5. E. K. Masel
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  6. H. Watzke
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  7. B. Schrank
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to T. Rumpold.

Ethics declarations

The study protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Medical University of Vienna (1003/2010).

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

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Rumpold, T., Schur, S., Amering, M. et al. Informal caregivers of advanced-stage cancer patients: Every second is at risk for psychiatric morbidity. Support Care Cancer 24, 1975–1982 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-015-2987-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-015-2987-z

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