The development of an instrument to identify cancer caregivers at risk for metabolic syndrome.

Abstract

e23174 Background: Cancer caregivers are at increased risk for cardiovascular disease. The aims of the present study were to develop an instrument to identify cancer caregivers at risk for the development of cardiovascular disease. Methods: Cancer caregivers were enrolled in a prospective study examining predictors of metabolic syndrome. Predictors included perceived stress, caregiver stress, depression, hostility, physical activity, diet, alcohol and tobacco use, social support and relationship with the patient. Regression analyses and factor analyses was performed to reduce the number of items to develop an instrument that would identify cancer caregivers at risk for cardiovascular disease. Internal consistency and Area Under the Receiver Operator Curve was also performed to test the new instrument. Results: A total of 111 caregivers were included in the analyses. The mean age of caregivers was 59.6 ( SD= 12.7) and the majority of caregivers were female (74.8%), Caucasian (94.6%), and were the spouse of the cancer patient (65.8%).Using regression analyses, the items from the caregiver stress, hostility, and social support questionnaires were most likely to predict metabolic syndrome. Preliminary findings suggest that a 35-item instrument was predictive of metabolic syndrome [B = 0.067, HR = 1.07, p = 0.001]. The reliability of the instrument was good with a Cronbach Alpha = 0.83. The Area Under the Receiver Operator Curve was also fair (AUROC = 0.703; 95% CI = 0.597-0.808, p = 0.001). Based on the AUROC, the best cut point to detect metabolic syndrome would be a score of 24 (Sensitivity = 0.75 and Specificity = 0.55). Conclusions: Preliminary findings suggest that this 35-item questionnaire may be useful in identifying cancer caregivers at risk for metabolic syndrome, an intermediate endpoint for cardiovascular disease. The questionnaire may be used to screen cancer caregivers for interventions to reduce metabolic syndrome.