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Cited by 20Cancer survivorship and careNursing care and researchCardiac Health and Mental Health

Psychosocial and behavioral pathways of metabolic syndrome in cancer caregivers

Open access
Steel, Jennifer L., Cheng, Hannah, Pathak, Ritambhara, Wang, Yisi, Miceli, Jessica, Hecht, Carol Lynn, Haggerty, Denise, Peddada, Shyamal +6 more·2019·Psycho-Oncology
DOI 10.1002/pon.5147PMC PMC6768062
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Abstract

Objective: Cancer caregivers are at increased risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and mortality. The aims of this study were to examine psychosocial and behavioral predictors of metabolic syndrome, an intermediate endpoint of CVD. Methods: Cancer caregivers were administered a battery of questionnaires assessing sociodemographic characteristics, depressive symptoms, perceived stress, caregiver quality of life, sleep, physical activity, alcohol and tobacco use, social support, relationship quality, and loneliness. Metabolic syndrome was defined using the American Heart Association guidelines and the National Cholesterol Education Program's Adult Treatment Panel (ATP) III, which includes the presence of at least three of the following abnormalities: blood pressure, glucose, abdominal girth, high‐density lipoprotein (HDL), and triglycerides. Results: Of the 104 caregivers, 77% were female, 94% were Caucasian, and the mean age was 59.5 (SD = 12.8). Of the 104 caregivers, 35.6% reported depressive symptoms in the clinical range of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies‐Depression (CES‐D) and 69.2% reported Perceived Stress Scale scores at least one standard deviation above the general population norms. A total of 16.3% of caregivers currently used tobacco, 28.8% consumed alcohol, and 26.7% were overweight (BMI = 25‐29.9) and 48.5% were obese (BMI ≥ 30). Forty‐nine percent of the caregivers met the criteria for metabolic syndrome. After age, gender, and race were adjusted, the following remained as significant predictors of metabolic syndrome: low levels of caregiver quality of life (Odds Ratio (OR) = 1.067; 95% CI, 1.019‐1.117; P = .006), high levels of hostility (OR = 1.142; 95% CI, 1.030‐1.267; P = .012), and current alcohol use (OR = 4.193; 95% CI, 1.174‐14.978; P = .027). Conclusion: Development of interventions to reduce the risk of metabolic syndrome in cancer caregivers is recommended.

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  • Eight studies described that care work implies a greater risk for caregivers of suffering physical morbidity with considerable wear, which increases as care burden continues over time.

    “In relation to physical problems, eight studies [25,34,37,40,41,42,43,44] described that care work implies a greater risk for caregivers of suffering physical morbidity with considerable wear, which in fact increases as the care burden continues over time.”

    From Quality of Life in Caregivers of Cancer Patients: A Literature Review (2023) · cites this paper as [37]

    The Introduction reports increased cardiovascular disease risk among caregivers, supporting the physical-morbidity concern. But the Results (Sociodemographic Characteristics of Patients and Caregivers; page unavailable) found no significant association between caregiving duration and metabolic syndrome, so this paper does not support the claim that physical morbidity increases as caregiving continues over time. (LLM, conf=0.88)

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  • Care provision by caregivers of adults with cancer causes physical problems, and the risk of physical morbidity increases the longer care activity continues.

    “Different review studies have revealed that care provision on the part of caregivers causes physical problems, increasing the risk of suffering physical morbidity the longer the care activity continues [25,34,37,40,41,42,43,44].”

    From Quality of Life in Caregivers of Cancer Patients: A Literature Review (2023) · cites this paper as [37]

    The Introduction reports an association between caregiving and cardiovascular disease risk, but does not establish that caregiving causes physical problems. The Results (Sociodemographic Characteristics of Patients and Caregivers) found no significant association between caregiving duration and metabolic syndrome, so the claimed increase in morbidity risk with longer caregiving is not supported. (LLM, conf=0.88)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • 13 studies indicated the need of developing coping strategies to improve management and control of both the situation and emotional strain, and to help increase training in caregivers, thus improving self-efficacy while reducing emotional impact.

    “Thirteen studies [23,24,27,30,32,35,37,38,45,46,47,49,54] indicated the need of developing coping strategies to improve the management and control of both the situation and the emotional strain, and also to help increase training in caregivers, thus improving their self-efficacy while reducing the emotional impact.”

    From Quality of Life in Caregivers of Cancer Patients: A Literature Review (2023) · cites this paper as [37]

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Steel, J. L., Cheng, H., Pathak, R., Wang, Y., Miceli, J., Hecht, C. L., Haggerty, D., Peddada, S., Geller, D. A., Marsh, W., Antoni, M., Jones, R., Kamarck, T., & Tsung, A.
Affiliations
  • University of Pittsburgh (US)
  • University of Miami (US)
Corresponding author
Steel, Jennifer L.
ORCID
Venue
Psycho-Oncology
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2019-07-08
Volume
28
Issue
8
Pages
1735-1742
ISSN
  • 1057-9249 (ISSN-L)
  • 1099-1611
DOI
10.1002/pon.5147
PMC
PMC6768062
OpenAlex
W2952477305
Cited by
20
References
5
Citations by year
2025: 2 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 7
FWCI
1.36
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor (vor)
Locations
  • Psycho-Oncology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
National Cancer Institute (R01CA196953)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Oncology › Cancer survivorship and care
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › Pharmacy › Nursing care and research
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine › Cardiac Health and Mental Health
Keywords
cancer caregivers, metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular risk, depressive symptoms, perceived stress, caregiver quality of life, hostility, alcohol consumption, obesity, social support, loneliness, psychosocial predictors, behavioral risk factors
MeSH terms
Adult, Aged, Alcohol Drinking, Depression, Female, Hostility, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Neoplasms, Quality of Life, Risk Factors, Social Support, Caregivers, Metabolic Syndrome

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