• Study of frequency and effective factors on depression in caregivers of cancer patients: A review study
  • Zohreh shahhosseini,1 Forouzan Elyasi,2 Seyedeh Zeynab Hosseinnezhad,3,* nouraddin mousavinasab,4 hamid shafie,5
    1. Sexual and Reproductive Health Research Center, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran
    2. Sexual and Reproductive Health Research Center, Psychiatric and Behavioral Sciences Research Center, Addiction Research Institute, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran
    3. Master student of Midwifery Counseling, Member of Student Research Committee, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran
    4. Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Iran, Sari
    5. Cognitive Psychology, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran


  • Introduction: Depression is one of the most common mood disorders that is associated with symptoms such as lack of pleasure, lack of motivation, libido disorders, sleep disorders and depressed mood. This disorder affects all aspects of life. Due to the importance of depression in caregivers of cancer patients, the purpose of this study is to review the frequency and factors associated with depression in caregivers of cancer patients.
  • Methods: This study was conducted in 1399 with the steps of designing a study question and searching, which was determined through MESH strategy in Google scholar search engine and databases such as SID, PubMed, Science Direct, Scopus using keywords including "Cancer", "Abundance", Depression ", "Caregiver" and "Effective Factors". Relevant studies were then identified from 2007 to 2020. From a total of 143 studies, after screening the title, abstract and full text, 23 studies were selected. Finally, the findings were classified.
  • Results: The findings of the present study indicate that the range of moderate to severe depression in caregivers of cancer patients is between 22-32.8% and mild depression is between 19-27.4%. Factors influencing depression in caregivers of cancer patients were also divided into three main categories. Individual factors mentioned in 13 studies include: age, education, gender, patient relationship, number of family members, coping strategies, and religious beliefs. The medical factors selected from the four studies included a history of physical and mental illness in the caregiver, the patient's type of cancer, the stage of the disease, and the medications received by the patient. Social factors influencing caring stress include economic status, disease awareness, social support, social class, level of social activity, and hours spent with the patient, as reported in 6 studies.
  • Conclusion: The results of the literature review show a relatively high frequency of depression in caregivers of cancer patients. Following this study, by identifying the related factors in the frequency of depression, it can be helped to eliminate it
  • Keywords: Caregivers, Frequency, Depression, Cancer, Effective factors