Alqaysi Layal, Alenezi Ahmad F, Malallah Khaled, Alsabea Ebrahim, Khalfan Mona, Alnouri Anwar, Jahrami Haitham
Department of Internal Medicine, Ministry of Health, Kuwait City, KWT.
Department of Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, CAN.
Cureus. 2024 Mar 26;16(3):e56989. doi: 10.7759/cureus.56989. eCollection 2024 Mar.
The mental health impact on relatives of cancer patients frequently goes unnoticed and is commonly undervalued. This study aimed to explore how personal factors such as the patient's degree of kin, marital status, cancer stage, and number of diagnosed family members are correlated with the severity of depression and anxiety among relatives of cancer patients.
This self-administered cross-sectional survey was conducted in Kuwait, employing a random sampling method to recruit participants. Depression and anxiety symptoms were assessed using the validated Arabic versions of the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) scale.
The mean age of the relatives of the cancer patients was 38.36 years (±13.44), with a female majority (59.72%). The prevalence of depression in the examined population was 60.1%, with the majority having mild depression (39.3%). On the other hand, the prevalence of anxiety in the same group was 51.2%, with the majority having mild disease (27.5%). Being female and having a cancer patient relative in the metastasis stage put patients' relatives at a greater risk of depression and anxiety.
The diagnosis of cancer necessitates mental health screenings for patients' relatives, as findings from our study indicate that these individuals are at a high risk of developing depression and anxiety. Targeted support and referrals to specialists are crucial for mitigating the impact on their well-being.
癌症患者亲属所受的心理健康影响常常被忽视且普遍被低估。本研究旨在探讨诸如患者的亲属关系程度、婚姻状况、癌症分期以及确诊家庭成员数量等个人因素与癌症患者亲属抑郁和焦虑严重程度之间的相关性。
本自填式横断面调查在科威特进行，采用随机抽样方法招募参与者。使用经过验证的阿拉伯语版患者健康问卷-9（PHQ-9）和广泛性焦虑障碍-7（GAD-7）量表评估抑郁和焦虑症状。
癌症患者亲属的平均年龄为38.36岁（±13.44），女性占多数（59.72%）。受调查人群中抑郁症患病率为60.1%，大多数为轻度抑郁（39.3%）。另一方面，同一组中焦虑症患病率为51.2%，大多数为轻度疾病（27.5%）。女性以及有处于转移期的癌症患者亲属会使患者亲属面临更高的抑郁和焦虑风险。
癌症诊断需要对患者亲属进行心理健康筛查，因为我们的研究结果表明这些个体患抑郁和焦虑的风险很高。提供有针对性的支持并转介给专家对于减轻对他们幸福感的影响至关重要。
