Clinical Hospital of the Federal University of Triângulo Mineiro (UFTM), Uberaba, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
Health-Related Quality of Life Research Group (GPQual), Learning and Research Institute, Barretos Cancer Hospital, Barretos, São Paulo, Brazil.
BMC Palliat Care. 2020 Jul 11;19(1):106. doi: 10.1186/s12904-020-00594-1.
Although cancer patients experience distressing symptoms and health-related changes in their quality of life, they may report positive emotional states. The lives of informal caregivers of cancer patients may also be affected by the patient's cancer diagnosis; however, they may also find benefits in their experiences. Noticeable changes are reported in personal priorities after an oncologic diagnosis that can lead individuals to restructure their values and the way they perceive life. This study aims to assess happiness/satisfaction with life and positive and negative affect in cancer patients and informal caregivers compared with healthy people in the general population.
A cross-sectional study with participants recruited online in five regions of Brazil through the social network site Facebook® and the application WhatsApp®. Surveys were completed using the SurveyMonkey® platform. A different sample of cancer patients and informal caregivers that was personally interviewed with the same forms was also grouped in the present analysis. Variables with p-values < 0.05 in the univariate analysis were included in linear regression models (stepwise, backward).
A total of 2580 participants were included, of whom 2112 were healthy representatives of the general population, 342 were cancer patients, and 126 were informal caregivers of cancer patients. In the multivariate analysis, the cancer patients and informal caregivers were happier than the healthy people in the general population, even after controlling for age, sex, educational level, and income. The patients and caregivers had lower scores for positive affect and higher scores for negative affect.
Overall, the conditions related to happiness, satisfaction with life and positive affect are similar for all groups. However, cancer patients and informal caregivers report increased rates of happiness and satisfaction with life compared with theoretically healthy people, although they have lower positive affect scores and higher negative affect scores. It is suggested that cancer patients and caregivers of cancer patients experience more difficulties (suffering) on a daily basis. However, given the increased difficulties, they perceive life differently, reporting that they are happier.
尽管癌症患者在生活质量方面经历着痛苦的症状和与健康相关的变化，但他们可能会报告积极的情绪状态。癌症患者的非专业照护者的生活也可能受到患者癌症诊断的影响；然而，他们也可能在其经历中找到益处。在接受肿瘤学诊断后，人们会报告个人优先事项发生显著变化，这可能导致个体重构其价值观和对生活的看法。本研究旨在评估癌症患者和非专业照护者与普通人群中的健康人相比，其生活幸福感/满意度以及正性和负性情绪的差异。
这是一项横断面研究，通过 Facebook®和 WhatsApp®社交网站招募巴西五个地区的在线参与者，并使用 SurveyMonkey®平台完成问卷调查。在单变量分析中 p 值 < 0.05 的变量被纳入线性回归模型（逐步，向后）。
共纳入 2580 名参与者，其中 2112 名为普通人群的健康代表，342 名为癌症患者，126 名为癌症患者的非专业照护者。在多变量分析中，即使在控制了年龄、性别、教育水平和收入后，癌症患者和非专业照护者也比普通人群中的健康人更幸福。患者和照护者的正性情绪评分较低，而负性情绪评分较高。
总体而言，与幸福感、生活满意度和正性情绪相关的条件在所有组中相似。然而，癌症患者和癌症患者的非专业照护者报告的幸福感和生活满意度高于理论上的健康人，尽管他们的正性情绪评分较低，负性情绪评分较高。这表明癌症患者和癌症患者的非专业照护者每天都面临更多的困难（痛苦）。然而，考虑到增加的困难，他们对生活有不同的看法，报告说他们更快乐。
