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J.R. Penrod



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    O07 - Supportive and Surgical Care (ID 136)

    • Event: WCLC 2013
    • Type: Oral Abstract Session
    • Track: Surgery
    • Presentations: 1
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      O07.03 - Quantifying the humanistic burden of caregiving for patients with lung cancer in Europe (ID 1981)

      10:50 - 11:00  |  Author(s): J.R. Penrod

      • Abstract
      • Presentation
      • Slides

      Background
      Lung cancer, the leading cause of cancer-related death, is associated with poor survival, painful, life-threatening disease attributes, and greater associated economic burden compared with other cancers. The disease also presents multiple challenges for the caregivers of patients with lung cancer, including increased distress, significant impact on social and health-related quality of life (HRQoL), and costs associated with loss of income and time spent on patient care. Little information exists on the extent of this caregiver burden. The current study aims to investigate the HRQoL and the comorbidity burden of caregivers of patients with lung cancer in several European (EU) countries.

      Methods
      Data were provided from the 2010 and 2011 EU National Health and Wellness Survey (NHWS), an annual, stratified, random, cross-sectional, self-administered Internet-based survey of healthcare attitudes and behaviors among adults in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom (n=114,962). Respondents who reported providing care for a patient with lung cancer ("caregivers") were compared with respondents not providing care ("non-caregivers") on measures of HRQoL and self-reports of diagnosis with conditions known to be caused or exacerbated by psychological stress. HRQoL was assessed using the 12-Item Short Form Survey (SF)-12v2, which included Mental (MCS) and Physical (PCS) Component Summary scores; mental and physical functioning subscales; and SF-6D health state utilities (with higher scores indicating better health status and minimally important differences [MIDs] of 3 points in PCS/MCS scores, and 0.03 points in health utilities).The self-reported diagnoses of interest included depression, anxiety, insomnia, headache, migraine, and gastrointestinal (GI) illnesses (ie, gastroesophageal reflux disease, heartburn, and/or irritable bowel syndrome). Regression models were used to predict health outcomes as a function of caregiving vs non-caregiving, controlling for demographics (age, gender, education, income, marital status, employment, body mass index category), health risk behaviors (exercise, smoking), and the Charlson Comorbidity Index (reflecting mortality risk).

      Results
      No significant differences between caregivers (n=107) and non-caregivers (n=103,868) on sociodemographic and health characteristics were observed. Caregivers and non-caregivers were on average 44.1 and 46.3 years old, respectively, and employed (55.1% and 57.4%, respectively), suggesting care given by children rather than by spouse/partner. Adjusting for covariates, caregivers reported significantly worse HRQoL than non-caregivers, including PCS (-1.91 points, P=.017), MCS (-3.52 points, P <.001, exceeding MID), health utilities (-0.049 points, P <.001, exceeding MID), and all subscales, except vitality (-1.83 to -4.87, all P <.03). In addition, caregivers had about twice the odds of non-caregivers of diagnosis with depression (OR=1.885, P =.018), insomnia (OR=2.190, P =.002), headache (OR=1.997, P =.008), and GI problems (OR=1.970, P =.002).

      Conclusion
      Adjusting for confounders, caregivers for patients with lung cancer reported significantly lower mental and physical health status, lower health utilities, and higher depression, insomnia, headache, and GI problems than non-caregivers. In addition to confirming and extending knowledge of the caregiver burden of lung cancer in EU, this study highlights a need for increased personalized support for caregivers. Research on other aspects of caregiver burden, such as healthcare resource utilization and work productivity, will help refine estimation of the financial impact of lung cancer on society.

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