P174 Relationship Between Mental Health of Elderly Patients with Terminal Cancer and Family Care in Japan

Abstract

In Japan, which has an aging population, the number of patients with cancer and cancer-related deaths has been increasing. For a long time, it has been customary for elderly individuals to be cared by their family members living under the same roof. However, that has gradually become more difficult. We decided to clarify the relationship between the mental health of elderly patients with terminal cancer and family care. We studied patients with terminal cancer aged 65 or older that were cared by their family members. Through anonymous self-administered questionnaires, we examined the background of the study participants and their main caregivers and whether study participants were supported by their family members in terms of housekeeping, eating, excretion, cleanliness, movement, medical care, and finances. Mental health was assessed with the General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12), which uses a 4-stage Likert scale. We performed t-tests after confirming that GHQ-12 scores were normally distributed. This study was performed after approval by the Epidemiological Research Ethics Committee of University A and the ethics review committees of the participating facilities. Questionnaires were collected from 38 individuals (collection rate, 60.3%), who consisted of 14 men and 24 women. The average age was 77.8 ± 7.6 years. Regarding housekeeping, eating, excretion, cleanliness, movement and medical care, those who received care from their family members had lower GHQ-12 scores than those who did not, but there was no significant difference. In terms of finances, those who received care had significantly lower GHQ-12 scores than those who did not (p=0.035). This study demonstrates that those who receive care from their family members tend to have better mental health than those who do not, and that those who are economically supported by their families have better mental health.