Caregiver burden in older Indian patients with cancer: Experience from a tertiary care center.
Authors: Menon Nandini , Patil Vijay Maruti , Noronha Vanita , Ramaswamy Anant , Gattani Shreya , Castelino Renita , Dhekle Ratan , Gota Vikram , Prabhash Kumar , Banavali Shripad Dinanath , Badwe Rajendra A. 
Published: June 2021

e24022

Background: Most of the care for adults with chronic/debilitating illnesses is provided by unpaid family members. There is little information on caregiver burden in older patients with cancer in India. Methods: This was an observational study conducted in the geriatric oncology clinic at the Tata Memorial Centre, a tertiary care oncology center in Mumbai, India. The Fronto Temporal Lobe Disorders (FTLDA) caregiver burden scale was administered to the caregiver who accompanied the patient to the geriatric clinic. The scale has 22 questions, each scored from 0 to 4. The points were added to give the total caregiver burden score. The severity of the caregiver burden was scored based on the standard key: 0-20 little or no burden, 21-40 mild to moderate burden, 41-60 moderate to severe burden, 61-88 severe burden. Descriptive statistics were used for demographic & clinical variables. The factors impacting the caregiver burden were analyzed using multiple linear regression analysis. The caregiver burden score was the dependent variable in this analysis. The independent variables evaluated were patient-related factors (sex, education, primary tumor type), vulnerabilities noted on the geriatric assessment (function & falls, psychological status -depression & anxiety, cognition, nutrition, comorbidity) and caregiver-related, i.e., the relationship of the caregiver with the patient. Results: The caregiver burden scores were obtained from the caregivers of 127 older Indian patients with cancer between June 2020 & January 2021. The median age of patients in this study was 69 years (range, 60-90). There were 96 (75.6%) males; the two commonest malignancies were lung carcinoma (47 patients, 37%) & gastrointestinal cancers (46 patients, 36.2%). The relationship of the caregiver to the patient was child (94, 74%), in-law (12, 9.4%), spouse (7, 5.5%), grandchild (6, 4.7%) and other relative (8, 6.3%). The median caregiver burden score was 12 (IQR, 6-20). The caregiver burden was -little/no in 97 (76.4%), mild-moderate in 25 (19.7%), moderate-severe in 4 (3.1%) & severe in 1 (0.8%) of the caregivers assessed. On multivariate analysis, the factors that significantly impacted the caregiver burden score included the sex of the patient ( P= .0445) & the presence of psychological problems ( P= .0164). In the univariate analysis, the caregiver burden was higher in caregivers of female patients (median score, 16 [IQR 9-25] versus 10 [IQR 5-19], P= .02036). Caregivers of patients with psychological issues also had higher caregiver burden (median score, 19 [IQR 10-28] versus 10 [IQR 5.25-17], P= .00224). Conclusions: The caregiver burden was low in older Indian patients with cancer. Higher caregiver burden was experienced by the caregivers of female patients & patients with psychological disorders. Clinical trial information: CTRI/2020/04/024675.