Relationship of objectively measured physical activity and sedentary behaviour with health-related quality of life among breast cancer survivors.

BACKGROUND: Lack of physical activity throughout one's lifetime has been associated with obesity and it is also an important risk factor of breast cancer. This study aimed to determine the relationship between objectively measured physical activity and sedentary behaviour with health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among breast cancer survivors in the East Coast region of Peninsular Malaysia. METHODS: A cross-sectional study involving 83 breast cancer survivors was carried out in two main government referral hospitals in the region. Participants wore the ActivPAL3™ microdevice physical activity monitor for seven consecutive days. The validated European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaires (EORTC QLQ-C30) and Breast Cancer Supplementary Measure (EORTC QLQ-BR23) were used to measure their HRQoL. Multiple linear regression analysis was conducted to determine the relationship between objectively measured physical activity and sedentary behaviour with HRQoL. RESULTS: Longer time spent on moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) was significantly associated with an improvement of HRQoL (p = 0.039) whereas longer time spent on sedentary behaviour significantly reduced the functioning score (p = 0.005). In addition, prolonged sedentary bouts were also significantly associated with better body image that led to improved HRQoL (p = 0.013). CONCLUSIONS: The study findings suggest that an increase in the time spent on MVPA was associated with improved HRQoL while sedentary behaviour was associated with poorer HRQoL among breast cancer survivors. Thus, it is essential to displace sedentary behaviour with MVPA to improve the quality of life of breast cancer survivors.

Health-Related Quality of Life among Long Term and Short Term Breast Cancer Survivors

@#Introduction: The number of breast cancer survivors in developing Asian countries is still lacking compared to Western countries. Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of cancer patients is one of the significant predictors of survival. Hence, this study was conducted to determine HRQoL status among breast cancer survivors of different diagnosis duration in East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia. Methods: Cross-sectional data were collected for 128 breast cancer survivors, aged 37 to 72 years who were recruited by using purposive sampling method at two main government hospitals in Kelantan (n=67) and Terengganu (n=61). The validated European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaires (EORTC QLQ–C30) and Breast Cancer Supplementary Measure (EORTC QLQ-BR23) which had been translated into the Malay language were used to measure HRQoL. Independent t-test was used to compare HRQoL status among short term (≤5 years duration since diagnosis) and long term (>5 years duration since diagnosis) breast cancer survivors. Results: Overall, our breast cancer survivors reported good HRQoL, with high scores for global health status, functional status and low symptoms scores. Long term breast cancer survivors had better social functioning compared to short term survivors (p=.038). Nevertheless, there was no significant difference found for other HRQoL status between short and long term breast cancer survivors. Conclusion: Breast cancer survivors in East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia generally experienced good HRQoL. The relatively similar HRQoL status between long-term and short-term survivors indicated a constant HRQoL profile among survivors throughout their survivorship.

Dietary Intake Among Breast Cancer Survivors In East Coast Of Peninsular Malaysia

A balanced dietary intake plays an important role in the prognosis of breast cancer and is one of the modifiable factors in preventing cancer recurrence. This study aims to determine the dietary intake among breast cancer survivors in East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia. A total of 125 breast cancer survivors, aged 37 to 72 years, with mean duration of survivorship of 6.1 ± 3.9 years were recruited from two main referral hospitals in Terengganu and Kelantan. Majority of the respondents were Malay (94.4%) with a mean BMI of 27.7 ± 5.07 kg/m², and were diagnosed with stage II cancer (66.0%). Dietary intake was estimated using a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). The results show that the mean daily intake of energy was 1764 ± 378 kcal/day, protein was 72.38 ± 33.6 g/day (16.5% of energy), carbohydrate was 243.0 ± 62.2 g/day (55% of energy) and fat was 55.8 ± 15.6 g/day (28% of energy). Overall, breast cancer survivors in this study had an adequate daily intake of vitamins and minerals according to Malaysian Recommended Nutrient Intakes (RNI) except for dietary fibre (10.6 ± 4.2 g/day), monounsaturated fatty acids (20.7 ± 5.7 g/day), polyunsaturated fatty acids (8.0 ± 2.2 g/day), calcium (561.0 ± 257.1 mg/day), iron (18.3 ± 7.2 mg/day) and potassium (1813.4 ± 531.1 mg/day) which was lower than the recommendation. Meanwhile, intake of sodium (2592 ± 1697 mg/day), protein (80.4 ± 33.6 g/day), saturated fatty acids (26.9 ± 14.2 g/day), vitamin B2 (1.9 ± 1.1 mg/day) and vitamin C (151.1 ± 149.3 mg/day) exceeded the recommendation by 135.0%, 139.0%, 166.9%, 154.6% and 152.0%, respectively. There was no significant difference in dietary intake between cancer survivors who were diagnosed in the past five years and those who were diagnosed more than five years ago (p>0.05) except for fat (p<0.001), saturated fatty acid (p=0.006), monounsaturated fatty acid (p=0.005) and polyunsaturated fatty acid (p=0.003). As a conclusion, breast cancer survivors in East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia had an adequate intake of most nutrients except for dietary fibre, monounsaturated fatty acids, polyunsaturated fatty acids, calcium, iron and potassium which was below the recommendation and sodium, protein, saturated fatty acids, vitamin B2, vitamin C which was above the recommendation. The intakes between long-term and short-term survivors were also comparable showing sustained dietary intake throughout survivorship.

Dietary Intake Among Breast Cancer Survivors In East Coast Of Peninsular Malaysia

@#A balanced dietary intake plays an important role in the prognosis of breast cancer and is one of the modifiable factors in preventing cancer recurrence. This study aims to determine the dietary intake among breast cancer survivors in East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia. A total of 125 breast cancer survivors, aged 37 to 72 years, with mean duration of survivorship of 6.1 ± 3.9 years were recruited from two main referral hospitals in Terengganu and Kelantan. Majority ofthe respondents were Malay (94.4%) with a mean BMI of 27.7 ± 5.07 kg/m², and were diagnosed with stage II cancer (66.0%). Dietary intake was estimated using a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). The results show that the mean daily intake of energy was 1764 ± 378 kcal/day, protein was 72.38 ± 33.6 g/day (16.5% of energy), carbohydrate was 243.0 ± 62.2 g/day (55% of energy) and fat was 55.8 ± 15.6 g/day (28% of energy). Overall, breast cancer survivors in this study had an adequate daily intake of vitamins and minerals according to Malaysian Recommended Nutrient Intakes (RNI) except for dietary fibre (10.6 ± 4.2 g/day), monounsaturated fatty acids (20.7 ± 5.7 g/day), polyunsaturated fatty acids (8.0 ± 2.2 g/day), calcium (561.0 ± 257.1 mg/day), iron (18.3 ± 7.2 mg/day) and potassium (1813.4 ± 531.1 mg/day) which was lower than the recommendation. Meanwhile, intake of sodium (2592 ± 1697 mg/day), protein (80.4 ± 33.6 g/day), saturated fatty acids (26.9 ± 14.2 g/day), vitamin B2 (1.9 ± 1.1 mg/day) and vitamin C (151.1 ± 149.3 mg/day) exceeded the recommendation by 135.0%, 139.0%, 166.9%, 154.6% and 152.0%, respectively. There was no significant difference in dietary intake between cancer survivors who were diagnosed in the past five years and those who were diagnosed more than five years ago (p>0.05) except for fat (p<0.001), saturated fatty acid (p=0.006), monounsaturated fatty acid (p=0.005) and polyunsaturated fatty acid (p=0.003). As a conclusion, breast cancer survivors in East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia had an adequate intake of most nutrients except for dietary fibre, monounsaturated fatty acids, polyunsaturated fatty acids, calcium, iron and potassium which was below the recommendation and sodium, protein, saturated fatty acids, vitamin B2, vitamin C which was above the recommendation. The intakes between long-term and short-term survivors were also comparable showing sustained dietary intake throughout survivorship.