Prevalence and predictors of symptoms of anxiety and depression, and comorbid symptoms of distress in parents of childhood cancer survivors and bereaved parents five years after end of treatment or a child’s death

Wikman, Anna; Mattsson, Elisabet; Essén, Louise von; Hovén, Emma

doi:10.1080/0284186x.2018.1445286

Cited by 60 publications

(79 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…We found that mothers reported lower QoL scores in the psychological domain than fathers. Studies reporting on multiple types of cancer have suggested that while mothers experience more distress than fathers shortly after treatment, they do eventually reach the same level as fathers with time 9,30,31 …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quality of life in parents of childhood leukemia survivors. A French Childhood Cancer Survivor Study for Leukemia study

Vercasson

Auquier

Gautier

et al. 2020

Pediatric Blood & Cancer

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Introduction Our objectives were to assess the quality of life (QoL) of parents of childhood leukemia survivors compared with population norms and to identify the determinants of parents’ long‐term QoL. Methods Parents of minors who had survived childhood leukemia participating in the French LEA cohort (Leucémie de l'Enfant et de l'Adolescent—French Childhood Cancer Survivor Study for Leukemia) were asked to complete the French version of the WHOQOL‐BREF. Results were compared with age‐ and sex‐matched values from a French reference population. Parents’ and survivors’ characteristics likely to be associated with QoL, long after the child's leukemia diagnosis, were explored using multivariate analysis. Results We included 487 parents (mean age 42.9 ± 6.0 years, mean follow‐up time from diagnosis 7.3 ± 3.3 years). Compared with the reference population, scores for physical health and social relationships for parents of childhood leukemia survivors were significantly lower (P < 0.001, effect size = 0.24 and P < 0.001, effect size = 0.29, respectively) contrary to scores for psychological health which were significantly higher (P < 0.001, effect size = 0.29). Even if health‐ and cancer‐related characteristics were associated with parents’ QoL in some dimensions, the only factor associated with each of the three dimensions (social relationships, physical health, and psychological) in the multivariate analysis was the parent's financial situation. Conclusions Long after leukemia diagnosis, the parents reported lower scores in the physical health and social relationship domains. Despite the difficulties of actually influencing socioeconomic characteristics, it is important to consider the social situation of each family in the long‐term care of survivors and their families.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quality of life in parents of childhood leukemia survivors. A French Childhood Cancer Survivor Study for Leukemia study

Vercasson

Auquier

Gautier

et al. 2020

Pediatric Blood & Cancer

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Comorbidity of distress experienced by parents of childhood cancer survivors points to the importance of understanding transdiagnostic cognitive-affective mechanisms We read with interest Wikman et al's [1] paper describing the prevalence and predictors of symptoms of anxiety and depression, in parents of childhood cancer survivors and bereaved parents. Wikman et al [1] reported that symptoms of anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress were highly correlated, and that 7-24% of parents experienced comorbidity.…”

Section: Letter To the Editormentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although transdiagnostic interventions in the cancer space are emerging [8][9][10], there is still a need to better understand the cognitive and affective mechanisms that underlie patients' and family members' distress. Wikman et al [1] found that symptoms of anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress were highly correlated, and that psychological factors explained a great proportion of variance in their multivariable regression for depression/ anxiety. These findings support the idea that common, maladaptive psychological processes may underpin separately categorized forms of distress in this group.…”

Section: Letter To the Editormentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They may also bolster parents' general coping and resilience skills to prevent ongoing and future distress. Given Wikman et al's [1] finding that (bereaved) parents' current distress was often unrelated to the cancer experience, the capacity for interventions to support parents to navigate both cancer-and non-cancer-related stressors seems an important focus for future clinical research [22]. Transdiagnostic approaches that target common underlying mechanisms hold great potential for achieving this, in ways that enhance intervention efficacy and cost-effectiveness [23].…”

Section: Letter To the Editormentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We thank Wikman et al [1] for their interesting paper and encourage future researchers to further explore the mechanisms of parents' clinical distress after their child's cancer treatment or when their child dies, so that we can develop more effective interventions for parents of children affected by cancer.…”

Section: Letter To the Editormentioning

confidence: 99%

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Comorbidity of distress experienced by parents of childhood cancer survivors points to the importance of understanding transdiagnostic cognitive–affective mechanisms

et al. 2018

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Psychotropic medication use in parents of survivors of adolescent cancer: A register‐based cohort study

et al. 2022

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Background The aim was to investigate psychotropic medication use in parents of survivors of adolescent cancer from the acute post‐diagnostic phase and up to 2 years following the cancer diagnosis. Methods This study had a nationwide register‐based cohort design comparing psychotropic medication use in parents of adolescent survivors of cancer ( n = 2323) to use in parents of cancer‐free controls ( n = 20,868). Cox proportional hazards models, adjusted for cancer diagnostic group, parents' age, country of birth, education level, marital status and previous mental health problems estimated the risk of use from the time of the cancer diagnosis up to 2 years later. Results During the first 6 months after the cancer diagnosis, both mothers and fathers had an increased risk of use of anxiolytics (mothers: HR adj 1.71, 95% CI 1.30–2.25; fathers: HR adj 1.57, 95% CI 1.10–2.45) and hypnotics/sedatives (mothers: HR adj 1.53, 95% CI 1.23–1.90; fathers: HR adj 1.32, 95% CI 1.00–1.75). For fathers with a prescription of psychotropic medication during the first 6 months after the cancer diagnosis, the risk remained increased after 6 months (HR adj 1.66, 95% CI 1.04–2.65). From 6 months after the cancer diagnosis, only the risk of antidepressant use among mothers was increased (HR adj 1.38, 95% CI 1.08–1.76). Risk factors included being divorced/widowed, born in a non‐Nordic country, older age and having had previous mental health problems. Conclusion Our study results show that during the immediate post‐diagnostic phase, mothers and fathers of survivors of adolescent cancer are at increased risk of use of anxiolytics and sedatives, whereas only mothers are at increased risk of antidepressant use from 6 months until 2 years after the diagnosis. Further, previous mental health problems were shown to be the strongest risk factor for psychotropic medication use in both mothers and fathers, pointing to the particular vulnerability of these parents.

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Prevalence and predictors of symptoms of anxiety and depression, and comorbid symptoms of distress in parents of childhood cancer survivors and bereaved parents five years after end of treatment or a child’s death

Cited by 60 publications

References 46 publications

Quality of life in parents of childhood leukemia survivors. A French Childhood Cancer Survivor Study for Leukemia study

Quality of life in parents of childhood leukemia survivors. A French Childhood Cancer Survivor Study for Leukemia study

Comorbidity of distress experienced by parents of childhood cancer survivors points to the importance of understanding transdiagnostic cognitive–affective mechanisms

Psychotropic medication use in parents of survivors of adolescent cancer: A register‐based cohort study

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