ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Modifiable lifestyle-related factors heighten the risk and severity of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in patients with cancer. Whether exercise lowers susceptibility or severity is not known. METHODS: We identified 944 cancer patients from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (mean age: 64; 85% female; 78% White) completing an exercise survey before receiving a confirmed positive or negative SARS-CoV-2 test. Exercise was defined as reporting moderate-intensity ≥5 days per week, ≥30 minutes/session or strenuous-intensity ≥3 days per week, ≥20 minutes/session. Multivariable logistic regression was used to determine the relationship between exercise and COVID-19 susceptibility and severity (i.e., composite of hospital admission or death events) with adjustment for clinical-epidemiologic covariates. RESULTS: Twenty-four percent (230/944) of the overall cohort were diagnosed with COVID-19 and 35% (333/944) were exercisers. During a median follow-up of 10 months, 26% (156/611) of nonexercising patients were diagnosed with COVID-19 compared with 22% (74/333) of exercising patients. The adjusted OR for risk of COVID-19 was 0.65 [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.44-0.96, P = 0.03] for exercisers compared with nonexercisers. A total of 20% (47/230) of COVID-19 positive patients were hospitalized or died. No difference in the risk of severe COVID-19 as a function of exercise status was observed (P > 0.9). CONCLUSIONS: Exercise may reduce the risk of COVID-19 infection in patients with a history of cancer, but not its severity. IMPACT: This study provides the first data showing that exercise might lower the risk of COVID-19 in cancer patients, but further research is required.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Neoplasms , COVID-19/epidemiology , Exercise , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Neoplasms/epidemiology , Retrospective Studies , SARS-CoV-2 , Surveys and QuestionnairesABSTRACT
Childhood cancer survivors are at increased risk for treatment-related late effects; data are lacking on how coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection impacts this cohort. We assessed COVID-19-related symptoms, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) IgG seroprevalence, and rate of COVID-19-related hospitalization among 321 asymptomatic survivors of childhood cancer or transplantation seen for routine long-term follow-up between May and September 2020 in a New York City tertiary cancer center. While 10.9% (n = 35) reported possible COVID-19-related symptoms, 7.8% (n = 20) of those tested had positive SARS-CoV-2 IgG, and one patient (0.3%) required COVID-19-related hospitalization. This report suggests that childhood cancer survivors appear to be at relatively low risk for COVID-19 complications.