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Cited by 155Palliative Care and End-of-Life IssuesGrief, Bereavement, and Mental HealthPalliative and Oncologic Care

Psychological burden in family caregivers of patients with advanced cancer at initiation of specialist inpatient palliative care

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Oechsle, Karin, Ullrich, Anneke, Marx, Gabriella, Benze, Gesine, Heine, Julia, Dickel, Lisa-Marie, Zhang, Youyou, Wowretzko, Feline +4 more·2019·BMC Palliative Care
DOI 10.1186/s12904-019-0469-7PMC PMC6862724
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Abstract

Background: This study prospectively evaluated distress, depressive and anxiety symptoms as well as associated factors in family caregivers (FC) of advanced cancer patients at initiation of specialist inpatient palliative care. Methods: Within 72 h after the patient’s first admission, FCs were asked to complete German versions of the Distress Thermometer, Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item scale (GAD-7), Patient Health Questionnaire depression module 9-item scale (PHQ-9) for outcome measure. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to identify associated factors. Results: In 232 FCs (62% spouses/partners), mean level of distress was 7.9 (SD 1.8; range, 2–10) with 95% presenting clinically relevant distress levels. Most frequent problems were sadness (91%), sorrows (90%), anxiety (78%), exhaustion (77%) and sleep disturbances (73%). Prevalence rates of moderate to severe anxiety and depressive symptoms were 47 and 39%, respectively. Only 25% of FCs had used at least one source of support previously. In multivariate regression analysis, being female (OR 2.525), spouse/partner (OR 2.714), exhaustion (OR 10.267), and worse palliative care outcome ratings (OR 1.084) increased the likelihood for moderate to severe anxiety symptom levels. Being female (OR 3.302), low socio-economic status (OR 6.772), prior patient care other than home-based care (OR 0.399), exhaustion (OR 3.068), sleep disturbances (OR 4.183), and worse palliative care outcome ratings (OR 1.100) were associated with moderate to severe depressive symptom levels. Conclusions: FCs of patients presenting with indication for specialist palliative care suffer from high distress and relevant depressive and anxiety symptoms, indicating the high need of psychological support not only for patients, but also their FCs. Several socio-demographic and care-related risk-factors influence mental burden of FCs and should be in professional caregivers’ focus in daily clinical practice.

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  • La dimensión psicológica es el área con mayor impacto en la calidad de vida de los cuidadores de pacientes en cuidados paliativos debido al poco soporte social, conocer y observar la progresión de la enfermedad y ser testigo del final de la vida.

    “observándose a la dimensión psicológica como el área con mayor impacto debido al poco soporte social, el conocer y observar la progresión de la enfermedad y el ser testigo del final de la vida”

    From Sobrecarga de trabajo en cuidadores de pacientes en cuidados paliativos oncológicos: Una revisión bibliográfica (2023) · cites this paper as Oechsle et al., 2019

    Split into 2 atoms — 0 confirmed, 2 partially supported, 0 disputed, 0 misattributed, 0 unverifiable. Expand the claim to see per-atom verdicts.

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • La sobrecarga del cuidador genera dolor, tristeza, ansiedad, agotamiento, trastornos del sueño, angustia psicosocial y depresión en un 74% de los casos.

    “ansiedad, agotamiento, trastornos del sueño, angustia psicosocial y depresión en un 74% de los casos (Arias-Rojas et al., 2021;Oechsle et al., 2019).”

    From Sobrecarga de trabajo en cuidadores de pacientes en cuidados paliativos oncológicos: Una revisión bibliográfica (2023) · cites this paper as Oechsle et al., 2019

    The Results (Abstract > Results; no page supplied) report sadness, anxiety, exhaustion and sleep disturbances among family caregivers, as well as distress and depressive symptoms. They give different rates for these outcomes—not 74%—and the Results and Discussion describe associations rather than showing that caregiver burden causes them. The cited passages also do not establish caregiver pain as part of this list. (LLM, conf=0.88)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Los cuidadores de pacientes en cuidados paliativos tienen una menor calidad de vida en comparación con otros grupos de la población.

    “se ha evidenciado que el grupo de cuidadores de pacientes en cuidados paliativos tienen una menor CdV en comparación con otros grupos de la población”

    From Sobrecarga de trabajo en cuidadores de pacientes en cuidados paliativos oncológicos: Una revisión bibliográfica (2023) · cites this paper as Oechsle et al., 2019

    En Resultados («Anxiety and depressive symptoms», sin página indicada), el artículo informa que los cuidadores tenían niveles de ansiedad y depresión significativamente superiores a los de la población alemana ajustada por edad y sexo. Esto respalda una comparación desfavorable en salud mental, pero no la afirmación más amplia de que su calidad de vida fuera menor: el estudio no presenta esa comparación. (LLM, conf=0.78)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • El 39% de los cuidadores mostró síntomas depresivos y solo el 25% tuvo una fuente de apoyo social.

    “Mientras que un 39% de los cuidadores mostró síntomas depresivos y solo el 25% tubo una fuente de apoyo social.”

    From Sobrecarga de trabajo en cuidadores de pacientes en cuidados paliativos oncológicos: Una revisión bibliográfica (2023) · cites this paper as Oechsle et al., 2019

    The Results section, “Anxiety and depressive symptoms” (page not provided), reports moderate to severe depressive symptoms in 39% of family caregivers. “Utilization of sources of information and support” (page not provided) says 25% had *used* at least one source of information or support for their own needs before admission; it does not say only 25% *had* a source of social support. (LLM, conf=0.88)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • El 47% de los cuidadores presentó ansiedad moderada y severa; factores como bajas calificaciones en conocimiento de cuidados paliativos, sexo femenino, ser cónyuge o pareja y el agotamiento aumentaron el riesgo de padecer este trastorno.

    “Un 47% presentó ansiedad moderada y severa, destacándose que, factores como: las bajas calificaciones en conocimiento de cuidados paliativos, sexo femenino, ser conyugue o pareja y el agotamiento aumentaron el riesgo de padecer este trastorno.”

    From Sobrecarga de trabajo en cuidadores de pacientes en cuidados paliativos oncológicos: Una revisión bibliográfica (2023) · cites this paper as Oechsle et al., 2019

    The Results (‘Anxiety and depressive symptoms’) report that 47% of family caregivers had moderate to severe anxiety. The Results (‘Factors associated with moderate to severe depressive and anxiety symptom levels’) associate those symptoms with being female, being a spouse or partner, and exhaustion. The fourth factor is worse ratings of palliative care outcomes (IPOS), not low scores in knowledge of palliative care; no page numbers were supplied for these passages. (LLM, conf=0.89)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

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Authors
Oechsle, K., Ullrich, A., Marx, G., Benze, G., Heine, J., Dickel, L.-M., Zhang, Y., Wowretzko, F., Wendt, K. N., Nauck, F., Bokemeyer, C., & Bergelt, C.
Affiliations
  • University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (DE)
  • Universitätsmedizin Göttingen (DE)
Corresponding author
Oechsle, Karin
ORCID
Venue
BMC Palliative Care
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2019-11-18
Volume
18
Issue
1
Pages
102-102
ISSN
1472-684X (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1186/s12904-019-0469-7
PMC
PMC6862724
OpenAlex
W2983553973
Cited by
155
References
54
Citations by year
2026: 17 · 2025: 23 · 2024: 43 · 2023: 17 · 2022: 21 · 2021: 21 · 2020: 12
FWCI
12.43
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • BMC Palliative Care (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • GoeScholar The Publication Server of the Georg-August-Universität Göttingen (Georg-August-Universität Göttingen) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
  • GoeScholar The Publication Server of the Georg-August-Universität Göttingen (Georg-August-Universität Göttingen) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Funders
Cancer Society of Hamburg, Germany (no assigned reference number)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Palliative Care and End-of-Life Issues
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Grief, Bereavement, and Mental Health
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Palliative and Oncologic Care
Keywords
family caregivers, advanced cancer, palliative care, psychological distress, depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, caregiver burden, inpatient palliative care, caregiver exhaustion, sleep disorders, socioeconomic status, risk factors, psychological support
MeSH terms
Sadness, Adult, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Anxiety, Depression, Female, Germany, Humans, Inpatients, Male, Mental Health, Middle Aged, Palliative Care, Prospective Studies, Risk Factors, Socioeconomic Factors, Stress, Psychological, Caregivers, Young Adult

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