Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Mental health outcomes in parents of children with a cancer diagnosis in Sweden : A nationwide cohort study

Liu, Yishan LU orcid ; Sundquist, Jan LU ; Sundquist, Kristina LU ; Zheng, Deqiang LU and Ji, Jianguang LU orcid (2023) In EClinicalMedicine 55.
Abstract

Background: The diagnosis of paediatric cancer is a crisis for the parents who are the primary caregivers of the affected child. A comprehensive assessment of the longitudinal impact of childhood cancer on parental mental health and the potential sex differences between the parents is lacking. Thus, we aimed to explore the subsequent short- and long-term mental health outcomes among the parents of children with cancer and examine whether the outcomes vary between the mother and father. Methods: By combining several Swedish registers, parents of a child (ages 0–14 years) with a cancer diagnosis between Jan 1, 2006, and Dec 31, 2016 were identified. For each parent of children with cancer, up to five mothers or fathers of cancer-free... (More)

Background: The diagnosis of paediatric cancer is a crisis for the parents who are the primary caregivers of the affected child. A comprehensive assessment of the longitudinal impact of childhood cancer on parental mental health and the potential sex differences between the parents is lacking. Thus, we aimed to explore the subsequent short- and long-term mental health outcomes among the parents of children with cancer and examine whether the outcomes vary between the mother and father. Methods: By combining several Swedish registers, parents of a child (ages 0–14 years) with a cancer diagnosis between Jan 1, 2006, and Dec 31, 2016 were identified. For each parent of children with cancer, up to five mothers or fathers of cancer-free children were randomly selected and matched, respectively. Hospital contacts for any mental health disorders between 5 years before and 7 years after the diagnosis of childhood cancer were retrieved. An interrupted time series negative binomial regression was performed to assess the short- and long-term impact of a childhood cancer diagnosis on the parents’ subsequent mental health outcomes. Findings: 16,199 mothers (2852 with a child with cancer and 13,347 without) and 15,708 fathers (2769 with a child with cancer and 12,939 without) were included in this study. Compared with mothers of children without cancer, mothers of children with cancer had higher risks of mental health disorders in the first year after diagnosis (rate ratio [RR] and 95% Confidence Interval [CI], 1.17 (1.03–1.32)), and notably, the adverse impact became more severe over time (RR and 95% CI, 1.36 (1.07–1.74), in the seventh year). For fathers of children with cancer, the risk of mental health disorders was continuously higher compared to matched comparisons (RR and 95% CI, 1.31 (1.01-1.71)). Interpretation: Our findings suggested that parental mental health was affected continuously by a diagnosis of childhood cancer in their children. In particular, the mother's mental health was affected more severely. Customised psychological services or interventions are highly needed for the parents of children with cancer. Funding: Swedish Research Council, Allmänna Sjukhusets i Malmö Stiftelsen för bekämpande av cancer, Swedish Heart-Lung Foundation, ALF funding from Region Skåne and China Scholarship Council.

(Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Childhood cancer, ITS, Mental health, Parents
in
EClinicalMedicine
volume
55
article number
101734
publisher
Lancet Publishing Group
external identifiers
  • scopus:85142188776
  • pmid:36419464
ISSN
2589-5370
DOI
10.1016/j.eclinm.2022.101734
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
Funding Information: The authors wish to thank the CPF’s science editor Patrick O’Reilly for his valuable comments on the text. This work was supported by the Swedish Research Council ( 2021-01187 ) and Allmänna Sjukhusets i Malmö Stiftelsen för bekämpande av cancer to Dr. Jianguang Ji, and by the Swedish Research Council to Jan Sundquist ( 2016-01176 ) and Kristina Sundquist ( 2018-02400 ), and by the Swedish Heart-Lung Foundation ( 20180465 ) and ALF funding from Region Skåne awarded to Kristina Sundquist and Dr Jianguang Ji. Yishan Liu and Deqiang Zheng are supported by China Scholarship Council (Grant No. 202108310036 and No. 202008110060 ). The funding agencies had no role in the design and conduct of the study; in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of the data; or in the preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript. The researchers were independent of the funding agencies. Publisher Copyright: © 2022 The Author(s)
id
78cdfcf9-f989-44cb-8767-e7084947f8a8
date added to LUP
2022-12-01 13:21:16
date last changed
2024-06-13 09:46:03
@article{78cdfcf9-f989-44cb-8767-e7084947f8a8,
  abstract     = {{<p>Background: The diagnosis of paediatric cancer is a crisis for the parents who are the primary caregivers of the affected child. A comprehensive assessment of the longitudinal impact of childhood cancer on parental mental health and the potential sex differences between the parents is lacking. Thus, we aimed to explore the subsequent short- and long-term mental health outcomes among the parents of children with cancer and examine whether the outcomes vary between the mother and father. Methods: By combining several Swedish registers, parents of a child (ages 0–14 years) with a cancer diagnosis between Jan 1, 2006, and Dec 31, 2016 were identified. For each parent of children with cancer, up to five mothers or fathers of cancer-free children were randomly selected and matched, respectively. Hospital contacts for any mental health disorders between 5 years before and 7 years after the diagnosis of childhood cancer were retrieved. An interrupted time series negative binomial regression was performed to assess the short- and long-term impact of a childhood cancer diagnosis on the parents’ subsequent mental health outcomes. Findings: 16,199 mothers (2852 with a child with cancer and 13,347 without) and 15,708 fathers (2769 with a child with cancer and 12,939 without) were included in this study. Compared with mothers of children without cancer, mothers of children with cancer had higher risks of mental health disorders in the first year after diagnosis (rate ratio [RR] and 95% Confidence Interval [CI], 1.17 (1.03–1.32)), and notably, the adverse impact became more severe over time (RR and 95% CI, 1.36 (1.07–1.74), in the seventh year). For fathers of children with cancer, the risk of mental health disorders was continuously higher compared to matched comparisons (RR and 95% CI, 1.31 (1.01-1.71)). Interpretation: Our findings suggested that parental mental health was affected continuously by a diagnosis of childhood cancer in their children. In particular, the mother's mental health was affected more severely. Customised psychological services or interventions are highly needed for the parents of children with cancer. Funding: Swedish Research Council, Allmänna Sjukhusets i Malmö Stiftelsen för bekämpande av cancer, Swedish Heart-Lung Foundation, ALF funding from Region Skåne and China Scholarship Council.</p>}},
  author       = {{Liu, Yishan and Sundquist, Jan and Sundquist, Kristina and Zheng, Deqiang and Ji, Jianguang}},
  issn         = {{2589-5370}},
  keywords     = {{Childhood cancer; ITS; Mental health; Parents}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{Lancet Publishing Group}},
  series       = {{EClinicalMedicine}},
  title        = {{Mental health outcomes in parents of children with a cancer diagnosis in Sweden : A nationwide cohort study}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.eclinm.2022.101734}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.eclinm.2022.101734}},
  volume       = {{55}},
  year         = {{2023}},
}