Anxiety and Depression Associated With Burden in Caregivers of Patients With Brain Metastases.
Marlon G Saria, Natasia S Courchesne, Lorraine Evangelista and 8 others
PMID 28635984WHAT IT FOUND
Caregivers of patients with brain metastases who said caregiving disrupted their daily schedule were more likely to screen positive for anxiety or depression.
Other burden areas did not show the same link.
Key findings
01Caregivers who reported schedule burden had higher odds of screening positive for anxiety and depression.
02Low caregiver esteem was associated with anxiety but not with depression.
03Financial burden was not associated with anxiety or depression.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Only 56 of the 104 caregivers who consented completed the survey, and the authors could not analyze why the others did not participate. The sample was a convenience sample from a cancer center and was not demographically diverse by ethnicity, income, or relationship to the care receiver. The study was cross-sectional, so it cannot show whether burden caused anxiety or depression or whether pre-existing anxiety or depression affected how burden was perceived. For family burden and health burden, no cases with negative outcomes were observed in the control no-burden group, limiting what can be concluded about those domains. The authors describe the conclusions as exploratory because the small sample did not allow in-depth analysis or control for other variables.
Declared interests
The supplied article text does not report author conflicts or a funding statement. The publication metadata lists NIH and non-U.S. government research support.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the odds ratios as proof that reducing schedule burden will reduce caregiver anxiety or depression. The study was cross-sectional and exploratory, so it cannot establish cause and effect.