Psychological distress predicts quality of life in the first months of cancer diagnosis in cancer caregivers.

ABSTRACT

In cancer caregivers, anxiety and depression may negatively impact quality of life. Information regarding correlations and the predictive capacity of anxiety and depression with regard to the domains of quality of life of caregivers 6 months after a patient's cancer diagnosis is sparse. Sixty-seven caregivers of cancer patients were recruited and completed the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and the Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) 30-45 days (T1) and 180-200 days (T2) after diagnosis. Depression and anxiety (T1) correlated with quality of life in terms of general health, vitality, social functioning, as well as role limitations due to emotional problems, and mental health (T2). Depression scores at T1 predicted general health, vitality, social functioning, role limitations due to emotional problems and mental health. Although these results are interesting, it must be noted that the sample size was somewhat limited and that the patients' cancer types may have influenced the results obtained. Psychological distress, particularly depression, correlated with and acted as a predictor for changes in the different domains of quality of life, highlighting the relevance of the evaluation of psychological distress in cancer caregivers shortly after cancer diagnosis. These results underscore the importance of differentiating between the different domains in the evaluation of impairments of quality of life in cancer caregivers.