Predicting distress among people who care for patients living longer with high-grade malignant glioma

Abstract

Psychological distress affects a significant proportion of caregivers of patients living longer with HGG. The presence of caregiver strain and low patient functional well-being are the most important predictors of psychological distress among this cohort of caregivers.

Family caregivers' level of mastery predicts survival of patients with glioblastoma: A preliminary report

“…Patients with GBM typically come to rely on their family caregivers (eg, spouses, adult children, or close friends) for physical and emotional support. Consequently, many family caregivers experience considerable burden and emotional distress . Caregivers' level of mastery, which can be defined as the feeling of being in control of the care situation, can influence the amount of distress perceived by family caregivers .…”

“…Consequently, many family caregivers experience considerable burden and emotional distress. [16][17][18] Caregivers' level of mastery, which can be defined as the feeling of being in control of the care situation, can influence the amount of distress perceived by family caregivers. 19,20 Indeed, mastery has been shown to have a significant effect on the amount of distress reported by the family caregiver as a result of providing care in neuro-oncology, 21 and in other caregiving populations.…”

Risk for use of antidepressants, anxiolytics, and hypnotics in partners of glioma patients—A nationwide study covering 19 years of prescriptions

“…Partners of glioma patients are exposed to severe stress potentially resulting in symptoms of depression or anxiety, and are equally or more emotionally affected than patients . Risk factors for stress among glioma caregivers have been suggested to include lower grade, and limited physical functioning of the patient, and lower education and younger age of caregivers . The previous research is however limited by small samples ( N < 120) limiting statistical power, cross‐sectional design, and lack of control groups limiting the possibility to infer causality, self‐reported measures of distress without clinical verification, and potential selection bias due to low inclusion rates of less than 50% of the couples, who are often the most resourceful and perhaps less likely to report distress.…”

“…neurological problems, personality changes, mood disturbance, cognitive decline), and poor 5-year relative survival of less than 5% in glioblastoma. 3 Partners of glioma patients are exposed to severe stress potentially resulting in symptoms of depression or anxiety, [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13] and are equally or more emotionally affected than patients. 5,12 Risk factors for stress among glioma caregivers have been suggested to include lower grade, and limited physical functioning of the patient, and lower education and younger age of caregivers.…”

“…5,12 Risk factors for stress among glioma caregivers have been suggested to include lower grade, and limited physical functioning of the patient, and lower education and younger age of caregivers. 11,13 The previous research is however limited by small samples (N < 120) [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13] limiting statistical power, cross-sectional design, [5][6][7][8][11][12][13] and lack of control groups [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13] limiting the possibility to infer causality, self-reported measures of distress [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13] without clinical verification, and potential selection bias due to low inclusion rates of less than 50% of the couples, [5][6][7][8][11][12][13] who are often the most resourceful 14 and perhaps less likely to report distress.…”