Abstract
BackgroundCaregiving for childhood cancer survivors may be burdensome for caregivers and affect their physical health and health behaviors. However, studies examining health behaviors in caregivers of childhood cancer survivors are scarce. This study aimed to examine health behaviors of caregivers of childhood cancer survivors by comparing them with those of the general population, and analyze associated factors.MethodsThis study included 326 caregivers of childhood cancer survivors recruited from 3 major hospitals in South Korea and 1304 controls from the Korean National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey matched for age, sex, and education level. We compared health behaviors between the two groups by using conditional logistic regression analyses, and investigated factors associated with unhealthy behaviors in caregivers by using multiple logistic regression analyses.ResultsCaregivers were less likely to be physically inactive (aOR: 0.69, 95% CI: 0.51, 0.92) compared to controls, and this was more evident in women (aOR: 0.65, 95% CI: 0.45, 0.94). However, caregivers were more likely to be binge drinkers (aOR: 2.26, 95% CI: 1.73, 2.97), especially if they were men (aOR: 13.59, 95% CI: 8.09, 22.82). Factors associated with unhealthy behaviors in caregivers differed by the type of behavior. Current smoking risk was lower in female caregivers and in those with more comorbidities. Increasing age, female sex, higher education level, and lower household income were associated with lower risk of binge drinking. Higher household income and anxiety were associated with lower risk of physical inactivity, while depression was associated with higher risk of physical inactivity.ConclusionsCaregivers of childhood cancer survivors were more likely to engage in binge drinking, but less likely to be physically inactive. Strategies to promote adherence to desirable health behaviors in caregivers are needed with consideration of their socioeconomic and clinical factors, such as number of comorbidities.
Highlights
Caregiving for childhood cancer survivors may be burdensome for caregivers and affect their physical health and health behaviors
The caregivers included in this study were the parents of 240 childhood cancer survivors
Around half of the childhood cancer survivors being cared for had been treated for a hematologic malignancy (47.5%), while the other half had been treated for a solid tumor (52.5%)
Summary
Caregiving for childhood cancer survivors may be burdensome for caregivers and affect their physical health and health behaviors. Studies examining health behaviors in caregivers of childhood cancer survivors are scarce. This study aimed to examine health behaviors of caregivers of childhood cancer survivors by comparing them with those of the general population, and analyze associated factors. In the United States, 5-year survival rates for childhood cancer have improved from 58% for cases. In a study of self-reported medical morbidity in cancer caregivers, the most commonly reported morbidities were hypertension, high cholesterol, chronic back pain and heart disease [10]. Unhealthy behaviors could deteriorate the health of caregivers as well as the childhood cancer survivors being cared for, and research on caregivers’ health behaviors is of great importance
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