A Retrospective, Cross-Sectional Study of Self-Reported Physical Activity and Depression Among Breast, Gynecologic, and Thoracic Cancer Survivors.
Michelle D'Errico, Kristen L Fessele
PMID 33337434WHAT IT FOUND
Most survivors were insufficiently active (61.7%), and 7.4% reported depression.
Breast survivors were more likely to meet activity targets than gynecologic or thoracic survivors, but depression rates did not differ.
Key findings
01Almost two-thirds (61.7%) of the 1412 survivors were insufficiently active, and 7.4% had some level of depression.
02Recommended activity levels were met by 44% of breast survivors, 35.5% of gynecologic survivors, and 36.5% of thoracic survivors.
03Breast survivors were significantly more likely than gynecologic or thoracic survivors to meet activity levels, but depression incidence and severity did not differ.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study was cross-sectional and used self-reported activity and depression scores, so it cannot show that activity caused or prevented depression. The sample came from one cancer center's survivorship program, and tumor types were chosen because electronic self-assessment data were most available, so it may not represent all cancer survivors. Only the first self-assessment completed by each patient was analyzed, so changes over time were not examined. The authors did not analyze whether activity level affected depression because depression prevalence was low.
Declared interests
No author conflicts are reported in the supplied article; the article is tagged as NIH extramural research support.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the higher activity rate among breast survivors as evidence that exercise prevents depression or that breast survivors are less depressed. The study was a one-time self-report survey, and depression incidence and severity did not differ between tumor groups.