Physical activity, fatigue and quality of life in breast cancer patients

Abstract

Objective: to evaluate the relationship between levels of physical activity, fatigue and quality of life (QOL) in women diagnosed with breast cancer. Methods: 215 women between the ages of 40 and 65 years were recruited at a cancer clinic. Physical activity levels were assessed by using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ), fatigue levels by using the revised Piper scale, and QOL by means of EORTC QLQ-C30 and WHOQOL-Bref. Statistical analysis was performed using Minitab statistical software, version 16. Results: the mean age of subjects was 52.66 years (SD=8.6); patients were mostly white (58.14%) and overweight (55.81%). Most women were fatigued (72.09%) while physically active women showed lower symptoms of fatigue (p0.001). Mean scores for QOL were significantly lower among fatigued women (p0.001). More active women scored higher on all scales of QOL (EORTC), especially for functional capacity (p0.001), compared with the sedentary patients. A significant association was found between level of physical activity and overall QOL (WHOQOL-Bref) for all domains (p0.001). Climacteric symptoms ranged from mild to strong and did not show any statistically significant results; however, the most active women had the fewest symptoms. Conclusion: physical activity appears to positively influence fatigue and QOL in women diagnosed with breast cancer.