The impact of physical activity on all-cause mortality in men and women after a cancer diagnosis

Background

Although increased physical activity is associated with benefits in patients with cancer, there are still limited data to suggest that increasing physical activity can reduce mortality in patients with cancer.

Research question/s

Do different types of physical activity (domestic, walking, sports) reduce mortality in patients with cancer?

Methodology

Subjects: 293 participants (female=65.5%, age 64.1±10.5 years) with diagnosed cancer (mean time since diagnosis=4.9±1.5 years) (breast 47.8%, bowel 21.1%, bladder 12.6%, prostate 9.2%, lung/trachea 3.8%).

Experimental procedure: All the subjects were part of national health survey and were interviewed to determine their physical activity (frequency of >20 min sessions per week in leisure sports, walking and domestic physical activity). All-cause mortality was documented in the cohort over a mean follow-up period of 5.9±3.2 years, and there were 78 deaths during the follow-up period.

Measures of outcome: HR of death in different categories of physical activity (adjusted).

Main finding/s

Conclusion/s:

In a prospective cohort study in patients with cancer, participation in an average of >3 sessions of more vigorous exercise per week (>20 min/session) was associated with a reduced risk of all-cause mortality after 6 years.

A specific inpatient aquatic physiotherapy program improves strength after total hip or knee replacement surgery: a randomised controlled trial

In a randomised, clinical trial, inpatient aquatic exercises significantly improved hip muscle strength in patients who underwent hip or knee replacement surgery.

Background

Structured aquatic exercises for the …