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Physical inactivity and risk of poor quality of life among elderly cancer survivors compared to women without cancer: the Iowa Women’s Health Study

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Abstract

Purpose

Few studies have examined lifestyle factors and quality of life (QOL) in cancer survivors compared to a cancer-free group. Compared to active cancer-free women, we examined the association between physical inactivity and QOL in elderly cancer survivors and similar-aged women without cancer.

Methods

Participants included 1776 cancer survivors and 12,599 cancer-free women enrolled in the Iowa Women’s Health Study in 1986 who completed the SF36 QOL assessment in 2004 (ages 73–88 years). The odds of poor QOL were computed for each SF36 subscale (>0.5 SD below mean score of cancer-free women) associated with physical inactivity (moderate-vigorous activity <once/week) between four groups based on the cross-classification of cancer history (no/yes) and physical inactivity (no/yes) (referent group = active cancer-free women).

Results

Compared with the referent group, inactive cancer survivors were significantly more likely to report poor QOL for each SF36 subscale (odds ratios 1.8 to 4.7), independent of age, comorbidity, body mass index (BMI), and diet quality. The greatest odds for poor QOL occurred for general health, vitality, and physical function. These increased odds occurred regardless of whether survivors were inactive at both baseline (1986) and follow-up or became inactive sometime after baseline. Among physically active women, cancer survivors had similar QOL as cancer-free women.

Conclusion

These findings provide evidence on the importance of leisure-time physical activity in older women and support the need for interventions to help older women maintain or regain a physically active lifestyle.

Implications for Cancer Survivors

Survivors who remain or become physically active as they age report better mental and physical QOL.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to the women who so generously gave of their time to participate in the Iowa Women’s Health Study. Supported by the National Cancer Institute R01 CA039742.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no competing interests or financial disclosures.

Compliance with ethics guidelines

All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000. Informed consent was obtained from all patients for being included in the study.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Epidemiology & Community Health, University of Minnesota, 1300 South Second Street, Suite 300, Minneapolis, MN, 55454, USA

    Cindy K. Blair & DeAnn Lazovich

  2. Department of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Milken Institute School of Public Health, George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA

    Kim Robien

  3. Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute/National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, Washington, DC, USA

    Maki Inoue-Choi

  4. Department of Political Science, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA

    Wendy Rahn

  5. Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA

    DeAnn Lazovich

Authors
  1. Cindy K. Blair
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  4. Wendy Rahn
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Cindy K. Blair.

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Blair, C.K., Robien, K., Inoue-Choi, M. et al. Physical inactivity and risk of poor quality of life among elderly cancer survivors compared to women without cancer: the Iowa Women’s Health Study. J Cancer Surviv 10, 103–112 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11764-015-0456-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11764-015-0456-9

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