Korean J Geriatr Gerontol.  2017 Dec;18(2):87-94. 10.15656/kjcg.2017.18.2.87.

Fatigue, Anxiety and Depression of a Spouse with Terminal Cancer Patient Visited for Hospice Consultation

• Kim M
• Cho SJ
• Yun SJ
• Yoon JH
• Jeon HR
• Lee JY
• Choi YS
• Kim SM

• KMID: 2566477
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.15656/kjcg.2017.18.2.87

Abstract

Background
There are still few studies comparing the fatigue, anxiety and depression of the terminal cancer patients. Therefore, this study evaluates spouses according to age, sex, and type of primary cancer of a patient and confirms its meaning.
Methods
We analyzed the effects of gender, type of primary cancer, and age on spouse's fatigue, anxiety and depression. From May 2014 to June 2016, 61 spouses who visited the hospice palliative care center of Korea University Guro Hospital for hospice consultation were enrolled.
Results
The gender of the spouse was not correlated with fatigue, anxiety, and depression. In the analysis of age, as the age of the patient increased, the effect on work and life enjoyment due to spouse fatigue was small. Finally, the spousal anxiety level was significantly higher in patients with lung cancer.
Conclusion
This study confirms that fatigue, anxiety, and depression degree of the spouse of terminal cancer patients are significantly correlated with the age of the patient and the type of primary cancer. We hope that the results of this study have been helpful in identifying the status of the spouse and further studies on other factors not covered in this study should be conducted.

Keyword

Spouse; Fatigue; Anxiety; Depression