Depression and anxiety burden among families of patients with malignant disease

Objective The aim of this work is to estimate the frequency of different malignant diseases among the families in Manshaat Sultan village, Menoufia Government, and also estimate the depression and anxiety burden among the families of the studied patients with malignant disease. Background The prevalence of anxiety and depression was 47 and 18%, respectively, among family caregivers of patients with cancer. The psychological stress of caregiving has a negative effect not only on the health of the family caregivers but also on the health and well-being of the patients with cancer. Patients and methods The study was approved by the Ethical Committee of Faculty of Medicine, Menoufia University. In total, 356 families were identified as having one patient with cancer. There were 356 (1.424%) patients with cancer from 25 000 individuals registered in Manshaat Sultan village. Overall, 10 families were excluded for the pilot study. A total of 312 families accepted to complete the interview, with a response rate of 87.6%. Predesigned questionnaire included socioeconomic history and hospital anxiety depression scale to assess depression and anxiety burden among families of the studied patients with malignant disease. Results The result found that 312 families accepted to complete the interview in Manshaat Sultan village. The results also showed that anxiety and depression were prevalent among the selected family caregivers in the study area at 47 and 18%, respectively. Depression and anxiety significantly increased among family caregivers with low socioeconomic level in Manshaat Sultan. Conclusion Anxiety and depression among family caregivers has been associated with sex, the patient's medical problem, and financial and social level of family caregivers.