Physical activity linked to lower all-cause mortality risk among breast cancer survivors
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Female breast cancer survivors had a 60% lower risk for death if they engaged in active or moderate physical activity vs. insufficient activity, according to results of a study published in JAMA Network Open.
The study evaluated the association of physical activity, outside of daily functions, with risk for all-cause mortality among breast cancer survivors in California.
Background
Physical activity is known to have a protective effect on risk for developing breast cancer; however, the effect of physical activity following a breast cancer diagnosis has not been confirmed.
“It has been suggested that both moderate and strenuous exercise have comparable benefits, but survival outcomes have been studied rarely among patients with cancer,” Lie Hong Chen, DrPH, of the department of research and evaluation at Kaiser Permanente Southern California, and colleagues wrote.
Methodology
Researchers conducted baseline interviews with a cohort of postmenopausal breast cancer survivors between Aug. 1, 2013, and March 31, 2015, who had received their initial diagnosis at least 2 years earlier (median 6 years of survivorship).
The cohort included 315 women who had been members of a health care plan in California and diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer between 1996 and 2012.
The cohort had a mean age at interview of 71 years (range, 57-86) and racial/ethnic breakdown of 68.9% non-Hispanic white, 20.9% African American, 8.9% Asian or Pacific Islander 8.9% and 1.3% Hispanic.
The study followed up with participants until date of death or study’s end, with participants questioned using the Godin-Shephard Leisure-Time Physical Activity Questionnaire and Fatigue Severity Inventory to categorize them as active, moderately active or insufficiently active at baseline.
Median follow-up was 7.8 years (interquartile range, 7.3-8.3).
Results
During follow-up, 45 women (14.3%) died due to any cause, including five due to breast cancer.
Active participants had the lowest mortality rate (12.9 per 1,000 person-years) compared with moderately active (13.4 per 1,000 person-years) and insufficiently active (32.9 per 1,000 person-years) participants.
Multivariable analysis showed a 60% lower risk for death among active (HR = 0.42; 95% CI, 0.21-0.85) or moderately active (HR = 0.4; 95% CI, 0.17-0.95) participants vs. insufficiently active participants.
“Our findings further suggest that survivorship care plans should consider incorporating physical activity because even moderate activity may be vital for extending survival, as well as health-related quality of life,” researchers wrote.
Study limitations included a lack of information on participants’ diets, measurement of physical activity without the aid of technological devices and inclusion of only breast cancer survivors in California.
The findings point toward a need for additional patient counseling on the benefits of exercise and physical activity following cancer therapy, according to researchers.
“This protection persists even after considering cancer treatments in the analysis,” they wrote.
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Chen LH, et al. JAMA Netw Open. 2022;doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.42660.
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