• Ali Alkan, Elif Berna Köksoy, Ebru Karci, Asli Alkan, Eduardo Bruera, and Filiz Çay Şenler.
• Department of Medical Oncology, Faculty of Medicine, Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University, Muğla, Turkey
• Turk J Med Sci. 2020 Aug 26; 50 (5): 136413701364-1370.

Background/AimPosttraumatic growth (PTG) is defined as positive psychological changes following a challenging or traumatic life event. The purpose of this study is to define the predictors of PTG and death anxiety (DAN) in caregivers of cancer patients and evaluate the impact of DAN on PTG.Materials And MethodsThe caregivers of cancer patients were evaluated using structured questionnaires, including a validated PTG scale and Templer death anxiety scale.ResultsIn 3 different cancer centers, 426 participants were evaluated. In multivariate analysis of factors associated with PTG, a high DAN score was the only parameter associated with high PTG scores [OR: 1.6, CI (95%) 1.02–2.5, P = 0.03]. In multivariate analysis of factors associated with DAN, female sex was the only risk factor for high DAN scores [OR: 1.6, CI (95%) 1.1–2.8, P = 0.049]. There was a positive correlation between PTG and DAN scores (r = 0.15, P = 0.001). Higher DAN scores were associated with positive impacts on self-perception (37.0 versus 35.0, P = 0.02), philosophy of life (16.0 versus 13.0, P = 0.035), and changes in relationship (16.0 versus 14.0, P = 0.01)ConclusionsThis is the first report regarding the association between DAN and PTG. We found a positive impact of death anxiety on psychological changes in caregivers of cancer patients.This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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