Moderate to vigorous physical activity participation associated with better quality of life among breast and colorectal cancer survivors in Korea

Abstract

Background: To investigate the association between physical activity (PA) and quality of life (QoL) among breast and colorectal cancer survivors in Korea. Methods: A total of 224 cancer survivors (151 breast and 73 colorectal cancers) who completed treatments were recruited. We measured PA level with Godin Leisure-Time Exercise Questionnaire and QoL with European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) QLQ C-30. Results: Moderate to vigorous PA was significantly correlated with global QoL (r =.311, p < 0.01), physical functioning (r =.231, p < 0.01), fatigue (r =-.176, p < 0.05), pain (r =-.154, p < 0.05), and dyspnea (r =-.221, p < 0.01) while no correlation was found between light PA and QoL after controlling for potential confounders. When we further divided our participants into four groups by total PA level, we found a strong linear dose-response relationship between higher total PA and better QoL outcomes (p