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Neuro-oncology family caregivers are at risk for systemic inflammation

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Abstract

Prolonged periods of family caregiving can induce stress levels that may negatively influence caregiver health. However, the physiologic effect of psychological distress in oncology family caregivers has received little attention. Therefore we aimed to determine longitudinal profiles of inflammatory cytokines (IL-6 and IL-1ra) in neuro-oncology caregivers and identify associations between psychological distress and cytokine levels. Depressive symptoms, anxiety, caregiver burden and blood were collected from 108 adult caregivers at adult patients’ diagnosis, 4-, 8-, and 12-months. Trajectory analyses of log transformed cytokine levels were performed. Multiple logistic regression analyses evaluated the impact of psychological distress on cytokine levels. For both cytokines, two distinct populations were identified, neither of which changed over time. High IL-1ra was associated with male caregivers with anxiety (OR = 1.7; 95 %CI 1.06–2.83) and obese caregivers (BMI = 40) who felt burdened due to disrupted schedules (OR = 1.3; 95 %CI 1.02–1.77). Conversely, caregivers with a healthy weight (BMI = 25) who felt burdened due to disrupted schedules were less likely to have high IL-1ra (OR = 0.71; 95 %CI 0.54–0.92). Caregivers ≤30 years old with lower self-esteem from caregiving were 1.16 times (95 %CI 1.04–1.30) more likely to have high IL-6. Analysis demonstrated groups of family caregivers with high and low levels of systemic inflammation and these levels did not change longitudinally over the care trajectory. Poor physical health in family caregivers may have a negative impact on the burden placed on the healthcare system in general and on the well-being of neuro-oncology patients in particular.

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Funding

National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute (R01CA117811).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Nursing, University of Pittsburgh, 336 Victoria Bldg, 3500 Victoria St., Pittsburgh, PA, 15261, USA

    Paula R. Sherwood, Thomas J. Price, Jason Weimer, Dianxu Ren, Heidi S. Donovan, Jennifer Prince & Florien W. Boele

  2. Department of Family Medicine, Michigan State University, Clinical Ctr, Tower B, 788 Service Road, Room B120, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA

    Charles W. Given

  3. College of Nursing, Michigan State University, C383 Life Sciences Bldg, 1355 Bogue St., East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA

    Barbara A. Given

  4. Office of the Provost, University of Pittsburgh, 212 Forbes Ave, Pittsburgh, PA, 15261, USA

    Richard Schulz

  5. School of Nursing, University of Pittsburgh, 415 Victoria Bldg, Pittsburgh, PA, 15261, USA

    Catherine Bender

  6. School of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, 3490 O’Hara St., Pittsburgh, PA, 15261, USA

    Anna L. Marsland

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  1. Paula R. Sherwood
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  2. Thomas J. Price
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Correspondence to Paula R. Sherwood.

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Sherwood, P.R., Price, T.J., Weimer, J. et al. Neuro-oncology family caregivers are at risk for systemic inflammation. J Neurooncol 128, 109–118 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11060-016-2083-3

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