Physical Activity, Sitting Time, and Quality of Life among Breast and Gynaecology Cancer Survivors.

BACKGROUND: Increasing physical activity and reducing sitting time was recommended to cancer survivors after cancer treatment for sustained health and to enhance the quality of life. This study aimed to determine the association of physical activity and sitting time with quality of life among the Malay breast and gynaecological cancer survivors. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 95 breast and gynaecology cancer survivor subjects. The Malay International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) was used to assess physical activity and sitting time. Quality of life was assessed using the Malay EORTC QLQ-C30 questionnaire. Sociodemographic, clinical characteristics and anthropometric measurements were also obtained in this study. RESULTS: The mean age of the subject was 51.8 ± 7.7 years old and the duration of survivorship was 4.3 ± 3.4 years. A total of 76.8% of subjects were categorized as having low physical activity level with a mean MET 403.5 ± 332.7 minutes/week and sitting time of 416.9 ± 151.0 minutes/day. Overall, subjects aged 50 years and above (p=0.006), widowed (p=0.032), retired (p=0.029) and had other non-communicable diseases (p=0.005) showed lower levels of physical activity. Increased physical activity had a positive effect on physical function (r=0.2, p=0.038), reduced insomnia (r=-0.3, p <0.001) and constipation symptoms (r=-0.3, p=0.012) domains of quality of life. The longer the sitting period showed more severe insomnia symptoms (r=0.2, p=0.03) but improved social function (r=0.2, p=0.012). CONCLUSIONS: Increasing physical activity and reducing sitting time have a positive effect on the quality of life of cancer survivors. The focus of health education should be prioritized to older adults (50 years and above), widows, retirees, and those with other comorbidities as they are at risk of being not physically active.
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Dietary Changes and Its Impact on Quality of Life among Malay Breast and Gynaecological Cancer Survivors in Malaysia.

OBJECTIVE: Fear of cancer recurrent, side effects of treatment and belief in food taboos encourage cancer survivors to make changes in their dietary practices after diagnosis of cancer. The objective of this study was to determine the impact of dietary changes on quality of life (QoL) among Malay breast and gynaecological cancer survivors. METHODS: Questionnaire of dietary changes was modified from WHEL study and adapted to typical Malay's food intake in Malaysia. A total of 23 items were listed and categorized by types of food and cooking methods.  Four categories of changes "increased", "decreased", "no changes" or "stopped" were used to determine the changes in dietary practices. Score one (+1) is given to positive changes by reference to WCRF/AICR and Malaysia Dietary Guideline healthy eating recommendations. Malay EORTC QLQ-C30 were used to determine the QoL. Sociodemographic, clinical characteristics and anthropometric measurement were also collected. RESULTS: The mean age of the subjects (n=77) was 50.7±7.8 years old with duration of survivorship 4.0±3.1 years. Subjects mean BMI was 27.8±4.9 kg/m2 which indicate subjects were 31.2% overweight and 32.5% obese. The percentage score of positive dietary changes was 34.7±16.4%. Positive dietary changes were increased intake of green leafy vegetable (49.4%), cruciferous vegetable (46.8%) and boiling cooking methods (45.5%). Subjects reduced their intake of red meat (42.9%), sugar (53.2%) and fried cooking method (44.2%). Subjects stopped consuming milk (41.6%), c 2008-5862 heese (33.8%) and sweetened condensed milk (33.8%). With increasing positive dietary changes, there was a significant improvement on emotional function (rs=0.27; p=0.016) and reduced fatigue symptoms (rs=-0.24; p=0.033). CONCLUSION: Positive changes in dietary intake improved emotional function and reduced fatigue symptoms after cancer treatment. By knowing the trend of food changes after cancer treatment, enables the formation of healthy food intervention implemented more effective.

Development and validation of a food frequency questionnaire for dietary intake assessment among multi-ethnic primary school-aged children

<p><b>INTRODUCTION</b>This study aimed to develop and validate a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) to assess habitual diets of multi-ethnic Malaysian children aged 7-12 years.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A total of 236 primary school children participated in the development of the FFQ and 209 subjects participated in the validation study, with a subsample of 30 subjects participating in the reproducibility study. The FFQ, consisting of 94 food items from 12 food groups, was compared with a three-day dietary record (3DR) as the reference method. The reproducibility of the FFQ was assessed through repeat administration (FFQ2), seven days after the first administration (FFQ1).</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The results of the validation study demonstrated good acceptance of the FFQ. Mean intake of macronutrients in FFQ1 and 3DR correlated well, although the FFQ intake data tended to be higher. Cross-classification of nutrient intake between the two methods showed that < 7% of subjects were grossly misclassified. Moderate correlations noted between the two methods ranged from r = 0.310 (p < 0.001) for fat to r = 0.497 (p < 0.001) for energy. The reproducibility of the FFQ, as assessed by Cronbach's alpha, ranged from 0.61 (protein) to 0.70 (energy, carbohydrates and fat). Spearman's correlations between FFQ1 and FFQ2 ranged from rho = 0.333 (p = 0.072) for protein to rho = 0.479 (p < 0.01) for fat.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>These findings indicate that the FFQ is valid and reliable for measuring the average intake of energy and macronutrients in a population of multi-ethnic children aged 7-12 years in Malaysia.</p>