Psychological Distress is Prevalent and Interdependent Among Patients with Decompensated Cirrhosis and Their Caregivers.
Academic Article
Overview
abstract
OBJECTIVES: Little is known about the interdependence of psychological distress among patients with decompensated cirrhosis (DC) and their caregivers. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study we examined the interdependence of psychological distress (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale) among 127 patient-caregiver dyads using Actor-Partner Interdependence Modeling. RESULTS: Among dyads, 26% had both partners reporting clinically significant anxiety and 18% reporting clinically significant depression. Caregiver anxiety significantly predicted patient depression (β=0.20, p=0.02). CONCLUSIONS: Psychological distress was prevalent and interdependent among dyads. These results underscore the need to develop interventions to reduce psychological distress in both patients with DC and their caregivers.
