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Physical exercise habits, lifestyle behaviors, and motivation to change among men with prostate cancer: a cross-sectional study

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Abstract

Purpose

To describe the physical exercise (PE) habits, lifestyle, and motivation to change toward healthier behaviors in patients newly diagnosed with prostate cancer (PCa).

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted in an Italian hospital setting. Men newly diagnosed with PCa were consecutively invited to participate in a structured interview that was conducted either in person or by telephone.

Results

The mean age of the 40 participants was 70.5 ± 6.6 (range 50–84). Most participants (65%) reported they were physically active, but more than half of the sample did not reach the recommended PE level. However, 40% of participants would be interested in participating in an exercise program. Only 10% of participants were current smokers, but 90% drank alcohol, and 62.5% were overweight/obese. Almost all participants were not willing to change their habits.

Conclusions

A high proportion of Italian men are insufficiently active when diagnosed with PCa. Moreover, even when exposed to behavioral risk factors, they are not willing to change their lifestyle. Health-care professionals who deal with men newly diagnosed with PCa should take advantage of the teachable moment and apply strategies that support patients’ motivation to exercise and adherence to healthier lifestyles.

Trial registration

The study was prospectively registered in ClinicalTrial.gov NCT03982095 on June 11, 2019.

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Data availability

Data set generated and analyzed in the current study was managed by the Information and Technologies Service (STIT) of the Azienda USL-IRCCS of Reggio Emilia in order to protect patient privacy. The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Jacqueline M. Costa for the English language editing.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ph.D Program in Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Reggio Emilia, 41125, Italy

    Barbara Bressi

  2. Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Unit, Department of Neuromotor Physiopathology and Rehabilitation Medicine, Azienda Unità Sanitaria Locale-IRCCS Di Reggio Emilia, Reggio Emilia, 42123, Italy

    Barbara Bressi & Stefania Fugazzaro

  3. Department of Oncology and Advanced Technologies, Radiotherapy Unit, AziendaUnità Sanitaria Locale-IRCCS Di Reggio Emilia, Reggio Emilia, 42123, Italy

    Cinzia Iotti

  4. Department of Medicine, Surgery, Dentistry and Morphological Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, 41124, Italy

    Maribel Cagliari & Stefania Costi

  5. Clinical Trials and Statistics Unit, S.C. Infrastructure, Research and Statistics, Azienda Unità Sanitaria Locale-IRCCS Di Reggio Emilia, Reggio Emilia, 42123, Italy

    Silvio Cavuto

  6. Department of General and Specialist Surgeries, Urology and Mininvasive Surgery, Azienda Unità Sanitaria Locale-IRCCS Di Reggio Emilia, Reggio Emilia, 42123, Italy

    Franco Antonio Mario Bergamaschi & Alfredo Moscato

  7. Scientific Directorate, Azienda Unità Sanitaria Locale-IRCCS Di Reggio Emilia, Reggio Emilia, 42123, Italy

    Stefania Costi

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  1. Barbara Bressi
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Contributions

Barbara Bressi, Cinzia Iotti, and Stefania Costi contributed to the conception and design of the work, acquisition, analysis, and interpretation of data; they also drafted the work and approved the final version to be published. They agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved. Maribel Cagliari, Stefania Fugazzaro, Alfredo Moscato, and Franco Antonio Mario Bergamaschi contributed to the acquisition, analysis, and interpretation of data; they also drafted the work and approved the final version to be published. They agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved. Silvio Cavuto contributed to the conception of the work, analysis, and interpretation of data; he revised the draft of the manuscript critically and approved the final version to be published. He agrees to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Barbara Bressi.

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Ethics approval

This study was performed in line with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. Approval was granted by the Comitato Etico dell’Area Vasta Emilia Nord (05/06/2019, number 425/2019/OSS/AUSLRE).

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Not applicable.

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

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Bressi, B., Iotti, C., Cagliari, M. et al. Physical exercise habits, lifestyle behaviors, and motivation to change among men with prostate cancer: a cross-sectional study. Support Care Cancer 30, 5017–5026 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-022-06911-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-022-06911-z

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