Caregiver Stress and Bereavement

Summary

The death of a spouse is considered one of the most stressful and impactful life events and is associated with increased morbidity and premature mortality. Early identification of individuals who are most at risk for poor health outcomes following bereavement is an important aim of precision medicine and disease prevention initiatives. A better understanding of caregiver burden and bereavement-related distress and its implication for health is a clinically-relevant step toward the development of treatments that improve health outcomes in bereaved spouses. This study aims to map profiles of individual differences in short- and long-term adjustment to loss, according to psychological (e.g., depression, stress, grief severity) and biological markers (e.g., inflammation, cortisol) over time.

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

* Participant age ≥ 18 years
* Caregiver or spouse of a patients suffering from a terminal illness (estimated life expectancy ≤ 6 months),
* regarded as the patients primary caregiver (i.e., intimately involved in care of the patient since time of the diagnosis, looking after his/her daily needs, supervising the medications, bringing the patient to the hospital, staying with the patient during inpatient stay, and maintaining liaison with the hospital staff),
* German as primary language
* signed informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria:

* Significant visual or auditory problems, cognitive impairment,
* morbid obesity (body mass index ≥40 kg/m2,
* alcohol or drug abuse
* active malignancy
* severe illness (respiratory, heart, liver and renal failure)
* major medical conditions involving the immune system (e.g., diabetes type 1 or 2, autoimmune and/ or inflammatory diseases including rheumatoid arthritis and ulcerative colitis, asthma, thyroid diseases)
* severe hypertension (\>200/120 mmHg)
* regular use of medication with major immunological consequences (e.g., corticosteroids, immunosuppressive therapy)
* pregnant or breast-feeding

Conditions3

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