Influence on the Health of the Partner Affected by Tumor Disease in the Wife or Husband Based on a Population-Based Register Study of Cancer in Sweden

Sjövall, Katarina; Attner, Bo; Lithman, Thor; Noreen, Dennis; Gunnars, Barbro; Thomé, Bibbi; Olsson, Håkan

doi:10.1200/jco.2008.21.6788

Cited by 63 publications

(64 citation statements)

References 24 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…9 In keeping with these findings, some of the previous studies on depression after a diagnosis of cancer in a spouse support an association, [10][11][12][13] whereas others have reported negative or null findings. [14][15][16] The majority of the studies had several limitations, including small sample sizes of spouses with cancer (<200 subjects), [10][11][12][13][14][15][16] and only a few small studies did include a relevant comparison group.…”

mentioning

confidence: 75%

Increased risk of severe depression in male partners of women with breast cancer

Nakaya

Saito-Nakaya

Bidstrup

et al. 2010

Cancer

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BACKGROUND: A few small studies published to date have suggested that major psychosocial problems develop in the partners of cancer patients; however, to the authors' knowledge, no studies to date have addressed their risk for severe depression. In a retrospective cohort study, the risk for hospitalization with an affective disorder of the male partners of women with breast cancer was investigated, using unbiased, nationwide, population-based information. METHODS: Followed were 1,162,596 men born between 1925 and 1973 who were aged 30 years at study entry, resided in Denmark between 1994 and 2006, had no history of hospitalization for an affective disorder, and had lived continuously with the same partner for at least 5 years. A Cox regression analysis included detailed clinical information regarding the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer and on annually updated socioeconomic and healthrelated indicators obtained from national administrative and disease registers. RESULTS: During the 13 years of follow-up, breast cancer was diagnosed in the partners of 20,538 men. On multivariable analysis, men whose partner was diagnosed with breast cancer were found to be at an increased risk of being hospitalized with an affective disorder (hazards ratio, 1.39; 95%confidence interval, 1.20-1.61), with a dose-response pattern for the severity of breast cancer. Furthermore, men whose partner died after breast cancer had a significant, 3.6-fold increase in risk for an affective disorder when compared with men whose partner survived breast cancer. CONCLUSIONS: The results of the current study supported the hypothesis that men whose partner had breast cancer were at an increased risk for hospitalization with an affective disorder. Cancer 2010;116:5527-34.

show abstract

mentioning

confidence: 75%

Increased risk of severe depression in male partners of women with breast cancer

Nakaya

Saito-Nakaya

Bidstrup

et al. 2010

Cancer

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Cancer patients being followed up and treated at home need help in many areas (Given et al, 2001). The relatives who take part in the management of their treatment carry huge burdens and may face various social and emotional problems (Sjovall et al, 2009;Siminoff et al, 2010). For example, it has been shown that all family members of the cancer patient, including spouses, children, and parents, are under psychological stress and even the lifestyles of the caretakers were deeply affected.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In one of the studies that examined behavioral changes in relatives of cancer patients, it was shown that after finding out about the cancer diagnosis, there was a serious increase in the relative's healthcare expenses, especially for money spent on psychological needs (Sjovall et al, 2009). It has also been shown that the degree to which the attitudinal and behavioral changes take place depends on the stage of cancer (Butler et al, 2005;Braun et al, 2007).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A review of the literature shows that studies conducted on the relatives of cancer patients primarily have dealt only with their psychological problems (Given et al, 2001;Couper et al, 2006;Wagner et al, 2006;Baider et al, 2008;Rhee et al, 2008;Sjovall et al, 2009;Siminoff et al, 2010;Rodríguez et al, 2011;Svetina et al, 2012). No study exists for any kind of cancer that examines the changes in attitudes and behaviors of the relatives of cancer victims.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It has been shown that proper care facilitates fighting the disease for both the patient and the relative in question (Salminen et al, 2004;Sjovall et al, 2009), and this is true for breast cancer as well (Schmid-Buchi et al, 2008). Not only is supporting the relatives vital, but also training them on how to communicate with the patient better helps decrease the psychological stress felt by both the relatives and the patient (Shields et al, 2004).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Changes in the Attitudes and Behavior of Relatives of Breast Cancer Patients Concerning Cancer Prevention and Screening

Koca¹,

Özdemir²,

Akdenız³

et al. 2013

Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: Changes in the attitudes and behavior of relatives of breast cancer patients concerning cancer prevention and screening after diagnosis in a loved one were evaluated. Materials and Methods: Forty-three questions were used to collect data from the relatives of the breast cancer patients who had been living with their relatives for at least one year. Results: The study group was composed of 171 female relatives (median age: 43, range: 17-82 yr). After the patients were diagnosed with breast cancer, changes in the attitudes and behavior of their relatives toward the prevention and screening of cancer were evident in 78 (45.6%) of the study participants (e.g. eating habits, quit or reduced smoking , exercise habits). In addition, it was noted that some characteristics of the relatives had different effects on different attitudes and behavior. Conclusions: Awareness on breast cancer among the relatives of breast cancer patients is useful for the management of health and social problems that can be seen in these individuals. At the same time, this information could help countries determine whether their actual level of healthcare for early cancer diagnosis, prevention, and screening are adequate.

show abstract

Risk of Psychiatric Disorders Among Spouses of Patients With Cancer in Denmark and Sweden

Liu

László

et al. 2023

JAMA Netw Open

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

ImportanceThere is emerging evidence that spouses of patients with cancer may have a higher prevalence of mental illness, but these studies have been limited by pre-post designs, focus on a single mental illness, and short follow-up periods.ObjectivesTo assess the overall burden of psychiatric disorders among spouses of patients with cancer vs spouses of individuals without cancer and to describe possible changes in this burden over time.Design, Setting, and ParticipantsThis population based cohort study included spouses of patients with cancer (diagnosed 1986-2016 in Denmark and 1973-2014 in Sweden; exposed group) and spouses of individuals without cancer (unexposed group). Members of the unexposed group were individually matched to individuals in the exposed group on the year of birth, sex, and country. Spouses with and without preexisting psychiatric morbidity were analyzed separately. Data analysis was performed between May 2021 and January 2022.ExposuresBeing spouse to a patient with cancer.Main Outcomes and MeasuresThe main outcome was a clinical diagnosis of psychiatric disorders through hospital-based inpatient or outpatient care. Flexible parametric models and Cox models were fitted to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% CIs, adjusted for sex, age and year at cohort entry, country, household income, and cancer history.ResultsAmong 546 321 spouses in the exposed group and 2 731 574 in the unexposed group who had no preexisting psychiatry morbidity, 46.0% were male participants, with a median (IQR) age at cohort entry of 60 (51-68) years. During follow-up (median, 8.4 vs 7.6 years), the incidence rate of first-onset psychiatric disorders was 6.8 and 5.9 per 1000 person-years for the exposed and unexposed groups, respectively (37 830 spouses of patients with cancer [6.9%]; 153 607 of spouses of individuals without cancer [5.6%]). Risk of first-onset psychiatric disorders increased by 30% (adjusted HR, 1.30; 95% CI, 1.25-1.34) during the first year after cancer diagnosis, especially for depression (adjusted HR, 1.38; 95% CI, 1.30-1.47) and stress-related disorders (adjusted HR, 2.04; 95% CI, 1.88-2.22). Risk of first-onset psychiatric disorders increased by 14% (adjusted HR, 1.14; 95% CI, 1.13-1.16) during the entire follow-up, which was similar for substance abuse, depression, and stress-related disorders. The risk increase was more prominent among spouses of patients diagnosed with a cancer with poor prognosis (eg, pancreatic cancer: adjusted HR, 1.41; 95% CI, 1.32-1.51) or at an advanced stage (adjusted HR, 1.31; 95% CI, 1.26-1.36) and when the patient died during follow-up (adjusted HR, 1.29; 95% CI, 1.27-1.31). Among spouses with preexisting psychiatric morbidity, the risk of psychiatric disorders (first-onset or recurrent) increased by 23% during the entire follow-up (adjusted HR, 1.23; 95% CI, 1.20-1.25).Conclusions and RelevanceIn this cohort study of 2 populations in Denmark and Sweden, spouses of patients with cancer experienced increased risk of several psychiatric disorders that required hospital-based specialist care. Our results support the need for clinical awareness to prevent potential mental illness among the spouses of patients with cancer.

show abstract

Influence on the Health of the Partner Affected by Tumor Disease in the Wife or Husband Based on a Population-Based Register Study of Cancer in Sweden

Cited by 63 publications

References 24 publications

Increased risk of severe depression in male partners of women with breast cancer

Increased risk of severe depression in male partners of women with breast cancer

Changes in the Attitudes and Behavior of Relatives of Breast Cancer Patients Concerning Cancer Prevention and Screening

Risk of Psychiatric Disorders Among Spouses of Patients With Cancer in Denmark and Sweden

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About