PubMed · 15954503
The source did not provide an abstract. Follow the original record for more information.
Explore connections, maps & timelines
John Standridge. 2005. Vive la difference!. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.smj.0000161756.87534.ec
Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.
KEEP EXPLORING
BACKGROUND: Childhood cancer survivors are at risk for late effects of disease and treatment that may be attributed to multiple causes. This study describes health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in childhood cancer survivors and identifies factors related to poor quality of life outcomes. PROCEDURE: Patients age 8-18 years, who attended the long-term information, follow-up, and evaluation (LIFE) clinic at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles during a 1-year time-period were eligible for the study. Eighty-six survivors (mean time off-treatment=7.8 years) completed the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory 4.0 Generic Core Scales, a LIFE Clinic Intake Questionnaire and rated their fatigue using a 10-point scale. Oncology nurses independently rated subjects' late effects using a 3-point severity scale. Linear regression procedures were used to evaluate the association between demographic and medical factors and HRQOL. RESULTS: Fatigue and more severe late effects were associated with poorer physical functioning (fatigue, P<0.02; late effects, P<0.01). Fatigue, ethnic minority status, and a brain tumor diagnosis were associated with poorer psychosocial functioning (fatigue, P<0.0001; minority status, P<0.04; brain tumor, P<0.01). Fatigue was the only factor related to both poor physical and psychosocial HRQOL. CONCLUSIONS: Long-term follow-up clinics for childhood cancer survivors are in a unique position to monitor HRQOL over time. Factors associated with poorer HRQOL include fatigue, ethnic minority status, a brain tumor diagnosis, and more severe late effects. Future studies need to clarify relationships between ethnicity, socioeconomic status (SES), and HRQOL in cancer survivors.
The higher prevalence of depression in specific diseases and older persons is discussed. This prevalence varies greatly according to the method used to collect data. A risk group can only be defined if information on diseases and other influencing factors are collected uniformly. The target diagnoses Parkinson's disease, stroke, myocardial infarction, cancer, diabetes mellitus, chronic pain, multiple infarct syndrome, Alzheimer's and other dementia were recorded from 1208 geriatric patients of the ZAGF municipal hospital in Munich, Germany. Logistic regression was used to identify chronic pain as the main cofactor for an association with depression (clinical diagnoses by ICD-10) and depressive symptoms (via GDS [Geriatric Depression Scale]). This association was also found for multimorbid patients with chronic pain. Impairment of the activities of daily living and the clinical setting were important additional cofactors. Pain patients are therefore at higher risk for depression.
Siblings of persons with mental illness who assume primary caregiving roles experience substantial and tangible economic impacts associated with this responsibility. This study investigated mailed survey responses collected from 156 adult siblings of persons with mental illness from New York State to examine instrumental costs associated with providing support to siblings with illness. Genders of both siblings, severity of the relatives' mental illness, and number of surviving parents in the family distinguished those occupying primary caregiving responsibility from those not in primary roles. Current caregivers incurred greater instrumental costs in the form of financial expenses, time spent in care activities, and crisis involvement than did those who were not primary care providers. Additional demographic and behavioral factors related to siblings with and without illness were associated with specific dimensions of instrumental expenditure. As siblings become increasingly engaged in caregiving, social service professionals must assume leadership in promoting programs and policies that meaningfully support family involvement for relatives with mental illness.