Associations of caregiver burden with prostate cancer survivor quality of life in the Detroit Research on Cancer Survivors (ROCS) cohort

Background: Little is known on how informal caregiver burden may influence outcomes in care recipients. We examined how much caregiver burden influences survivors’ quality of life (QoL) in a cohort of Black prostate cancer survivors, an underrepresented population in survivorship research. Methods: We included a convenience sample of 307 prostate cancer survivor-caregiver dyads in the Detroit Research on Cancer Survivors cohort. Caregivers reported their caregiving burden and involvement level. Survivors completed annual surveys (across 4 years) on emotional, social, functional, physical, and prostate cancer-specific wellbeing. Linear mixed effects models, adjusted for survivor demographic and clinical factors and caregiving relationship factors, examined associations between caregiver burden and each domain. Results: Prostate cancer survivors were a median of 62 years at diagnosis and enrolled a median 16 months after diagnosis. Most caregivers reported low burden (82%). Survivors whose caregivers reported low burden, compared to moderate or higher, had higher average scores at baseline, in emotional (2.49 points, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.35, 3.63), physical (2.28, 95% CI 0.81, 3.76), functional (3.77, 95% CI 1.96, 5.59), and prostate cancer-specific wellbeing (3.52, 95% CI 1.16, 5.90). The difference in physical wellbeing scores between burden groups decreased over time. Compared to survivors whose caregivers experienced moderate or higher burden, mean QoL differences among those with low-burdened, not highly-involved caregivers were greater than that with low-burdened, highly-involved caregivers. Conclusions: Lower caregiver burden was associated with higher prostate cancer survivor QoL. Impact: Findings suggest the level of caregiver burden is associated with QoL among prostate cancer survivors.