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Objectively measured sedentary behavior and quality of life among survivors of early stage breast cancer

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Abstract

Purpose

This study examined relationships between sedentary behavior accumulated in different bout durations and quality of life (QoL) among breast cancer survivors.

Methods

Postmenopausal breast cancer survivors completed the Short Form Health Survey to assess QoL and wore an accelerometer to measure sedentary behavior and physical activity between August 2011 and May 2013.

Results

Participants (n = 134) averaged 509.7 min/day in sedentary time with 285.2 min/day in short bouts (<20 min) and 224.5 min/day long bouts (≥20 min). Linear regression models indicated that greater total sedentary time was significantly associated with worse physical QoL (b = −0.70, p = 0.02) but not mental QoL (p = 0.92). Models that examined the accumulation of sedentary time in short bouts and long bouts together showed that time in long sedentary bouts was significantly related to physical QoL (b = −0.72, p = 0.02), while time in short bouts was not (p = 0.63). Moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity (MVPA) was a significant effect modifier of the relation between time spent in long sedentary bouts and physical QoL (p = 0.028) such that greater time in long bouts was associated with worse physical QoL only among women with lower levels of MVPA.

Conclusions

Findings indicate that time spent in long sedentary bouts is associated with worse physical QoL among breast cancer survivors who do not engage in high levels of MVPA. Future research should examine reducing sedentary time as a potential strategy to improve physical QoL.

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Acknowledgements

Research support was provided by funding from the National Cancer Institute (U54CA155435). Dr. Hartman was supported by the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number K07CA181323; Dr. Marinac was supported under Award Number F31CA183125. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Moores UCSD Cancer Center, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA

    Sheri J. Hartman, Catherine R. Marinac, Loki Natarajan & Ruth E. Patterson

  2. Department of Family Medicine & Public Health, Moores UCSD Cancer Center, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093-0901, USA

    Sheri J. Hartman, Catherine R. Marinac, John Bellettiere, Suneeta Godbole, Loki Natarajan, Ruth E. Patterson & Jacqueline Kerr

  3. Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA

    Catherine R. Marinac & John Bellettiere

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  1. Sheri J. Hartman
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  2. Catherine R. Marinac
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Correspondence to Sheri J. Hartman.

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The UC San Diego institutional review board approved all study procedures, and all participants provided written informed consent.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Hartman, S.J., Marinac, C.R., Bellettiere, J. et al. Objectively measured sedentary behavior and quality of life among survivors of early stage breast cancer. Support Care Cancer 25, 2495–2503 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-017-3657-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-017-3657-0

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