Risk and Protective Factors for PTSD in Caregivers of Adult Patients with Severe Medical Illnesses: A Systematic Review.

Claudia Carmassi,Claudia Foghi,Carlo Antonio Bertelloni,Liliana Dell’Osso,Valerio Dell’Oste,Andrea Fiorillo

doi:10.3390/ijerph17165888

Abstract

Caregivers of severely ill individuals often struggle to adjust to new responsibilities and roles while experiencing negative psychological outcomes that include depression, anxiety and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). This systematic review aims to outline potential risk and protective factors for the development of PTSD in caregivers of adult subjects affected by severe somatic, potentially life-threatening illnesses. Twenty-nine studies on caregivers of adult patients affected by severe, acute, or chronic somatic diseases have been included. Eligibility criteria included: full-text publications reporting primary, empirical data; PTSD in caregivers of adult subjects affected by severe physical illnesses; risk and/or protective factors related to PTSD; and English language. Specific sociodemographic and socioeconomic characteristics, besides the illness-related distress, familiar relationships, exposure characteristics, coping style, and support, were identified as relevant risk/protective factors for PTSD. The review limitations are the small number of studies; studies on different types of diseases; studies with same samples. It is crucial to consider factors affecting caregivers of severely ill adult patients in order to plan effective intervention strategies aimed at reducing the risk of an adverse mental health outcome and at enhancing the psychological endurance of this population.

Highlights

Caregiving burden is defined as the physical, psychological, social, or economic strain that caregivers may experience during the care of a loved one [1,2]
Studies were identified by searching the electronic databases MEDLINE (Pubmed), EMBASE, and Ovid by using the combination of search terms (PTSD OR posttraumatic stress OR post-traumatic stress disorder OR post-traumatic stress symptoms OR PTSS) AND without filters, restrictions or limits
Articles that found possible risk and/or protective factors related to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms in caregivers

Summary

Introduction

Caregiving burden is defined as the physical, psychological, social, or economic strain that caregivers may experience during the care of a loved one [1,2]. The role of family caregiver can be extremely stressful and result in many adverse outcomes, ranging from mild psychological stress to an increased risk of death [4]. Family caregivers, while struggling to adjust to new responsibilities and roles [5], may experience negative psychological outcomes that include new or worsening depression, anxiety, and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms [6]. The prevalence of psychiatric disorders in caregivers can be associated to psychological symptoms in the patient [7,8,9], virtually worsening the patient outcome. Public Health 2020, 17, 5888; doi:10.3390/ijerph17165888 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph

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