Effects of a group physical activity program on physical fitness and quality of life in individuals with schizophrenia

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of a 16-week group physical activity (PA) program on physical fitness and quality of life in outpatients with schizophrenia.MethodsNineteen outpatients with schizophrenia were divided into experimental (EG) (n = 8; mean age 39 ± 7 years) and control (CG) (n = 11; mean age 40 ± 6 years) groups. The EG underwent twice a week sessions of a group PA program for a period of 16-week. The participants completed a battery of tests at baseline and after 16-week, which included the assessment of body composition (dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry), functional exercise capacity (6MWT), physical activity levels (accelerometers), quality of life (WHOQOL-Brief), and anthropometric measures. During the program different strategies were implemented to ensure the participants' adherence.ResultsThe attendance to the program was 79.7%. In the EG a significant decrease was observed in hip circumference (p = 0.02); a significant increase occurred in moderate to vigorous physical activity (p = 0.05) and in the environment domain (WHOQOL-Brief) (p = 0.02). The improvement in environment domain scores was also associated with a decrease in sedentary behavior (r = −0.82, p = 0.01) in the EG.ConclusionsThe strategies used during the program promoted a high rate of attendance. PA may have a positive impact on the participants' ability to perform activities of daily living. This study showed that a group PA program can be successfully implemented for outpatients with schizophrenia and can influence their quality of life and PA levels.     

大学生健康体适能及与生命质量关系

目的 探讨大学生健康体适能、运动行为与生命质量的关系。方法采用问卷调查方法对河北地区高校956名大学生进行调查。结果 大学生生命质量各维度得分生理功能为(78.65±7.56)分,活力为(57.20±20.75)分,情感职能为(60.12±19.54)分,精神健康为(73.21±17.45)分,生理职能为(67.35±28.14)分,社会功能为(80.23±21.65)分,躯体疼痛为(67.58±20.86)分和总体健康(69.26±18.22)分;不同性别大学生健康体适能、运动行为、生命质量中各条目除了柔韧度、锻炼强度外,其他条目男女生差异明显(P<0.05或P<0.01);大学生生命质量各维度与不同健康体适能之间总体上除情感职能维度外,其他各维度之间均存在较强的相关关系(P<0.05);在与运动行为的关系上,生命质量与锻炼时间和次数存在较强的正相关关系(P<0.05或P<0.01),而部分维度却与锻炼强度存在负相关关系。结论 大学生运动行为既是生命质量的重要影响因素,又是提高生命质量的积极手段;应重视大学生的健康教育,激发大学生锻炼热情,改善健康体适能以提高生命质量水平。     

Predicting physical quality of life among a multiethnic sample of breast cancer survivors

Background  

This study aims to test the utility and applicability of the physical quality of life (PQOL) model based on the Contextual Model of Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQOL). Specifically, this study focuses on investigating the different patterns in the structural model of PQOL according to four major U.S. ethnic groups and the mediating effects of psychological well-being between the systemic-level constructs and PQOL.     

Influence of exercise activity on quality of life in long-term breast cancer survivors

Background: Behavioral and lifestyle factors may influence quality of life (QOL) outcomes in breast cancer survivors. Methods: Information on QOL (Short Form-36, SF-36), lifestyle and survivorship was collected during telephone interviews with 374 breast cancer patients, diagnosed between 1983 and 1988 at ages 40 years or younger and interviewed, on average 13.2 years following diagnosis. These women previously participated in a case-control study soon after their diagnoses, providing information on breast cancer risk factors including exercise activity. We examined the impact of changes in exercise activity (comparing pre- to post-diagnosis levels) on the SF-36 mental and physical health summary scales using regression analyses. Results: A positive change in exercise activity was associated with a higher score on the SF-36 physical health summary scale at follow-up (p= 0.005). Change in exercise activity was not associated with the SF-36 mental health summary scale score. Patients who increased their activity levels did not differ from those who did not in terms of medical or demographic characteristics. Conclusion: This study provides one of the longest follow-up periods of breast cancer survivors to date among studies that focus on QOL and is unique in its focus on women diagnosed at a young age. Our results confirm high levels of functioning and well-being among long-term survivors and indicate that women whose exercise activity increased following diagnosis score higher on the SF-36 physical health summary scale. These findings suggest a potential role for exercise activity in maintaining well-being after a cancer diagnosis.     

Personal accounts of exercise and quality of life from the perspective of breast cancer survivors

Objectives The purpose of the study was to examine breast cancer survivors’ perceptions of exercise and their quality of life (QoL). Methods About 289 breast cancer survivors completed a survey addressing exercise attitudes, behaviour and perceived QoL. In addition, the breast cancer survivors completed two open-ended questions designed to explore perceptions of exercise and QoL throughout their cancer experience. Inductive and deductive content analyses were used to analyse responses. Results About 19 first-order themes were identified, which were clustered into five second-order themes that included; Exercise behaviour, Lifestyle, Limitations and barriers, Growth and priorities, and Personal beliefs and values. The findings identified a framework of multifaceted views held by breast cancer survivors in relation to their QoL and outlook on their disease. Conclusions Given that cancer survivors are faced with a number of treatment related morbidities 2 years post-diagnosis, there is a need for health professionals to carefully address a cancer survivor’s exercise needs in an attempt to help improve their future QoL.     

Longitudinal associations of light-intensity physical activity with quality of life,functioning and fatigue after colorectal cancer

Quality of Life Research - Evidence from cross-sectional studies suggests that higher levels of light-intensity physical activity (LPA) are associated with better health-related quality of life...     

Depression and quality of life in cancer survivors: is there a relationship with physical activity?

Background  

Evidence is growing on the benefit of physical activity to improve well-being following a cancer diagnosis. This study examined changes in physical activity from pre to post diagnosis and explored this relationship with quality of life and depression.     

Measurement of the quality of life in cancer survivors

A QOL instrument was developed to measure the specific concerns of long term cancer survivors. The QOL-CS is based on previous versions of the QOL instrument developed by researchers at the City of Hope National Medical Centre (Grant, Padilla, and Ferrell). This instrument was revised over a one year pilot by Hassey-Dow and Ferrell. The revised instrument included 41 items representing the four domains of quality of life incorporating physical, psychological, social, and spiritual well being. The present study was conducted as a mail survey to the membership (n=1,200) of the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship with 686 subjects responding to the survey. This survey included a Demographic tool, QOL-CS and the FACT-G tool developed by Cella. Psychometric analysis, performed on 686 respondents, included measures of reliability and validity. Two measures of reliability included test-retest and internal consistency. The overall QOL-CS tool test-retest reliability was 0.89 with subscales of Physicalr=0.88, Psychologicalr=0.88, Socialr=0.81, and Spiritual,r=0.90. The second measure of reliability was computation of internal consistency using Cronbach's coefficient as a measure of agreement between items and subscales. Analysis revealed an overallr=0.93. Subscale alphas average ranged fromr=0.71 for spiritual well being,r=0.77 for physical,r=0.81 for social, andr=0.89 for psychological.Several measures of validity were used to determine the extent to which the instrument measured the concept of QOL in cancer survivors. The first method of content validity was based on a panel of QOL researchers and nurses with expertise in oncology. The second measure used stepwise multiple regression to determine factors most predictive of overall QOL in cancer survivors. Seventeen variables were found to be statistically significant accounting for 91% of the variance in overall QOL. The fourth measure of validity used Pearson's correlations to estimate the relationships between the subscales of QOL-CS and the subscales of the established FACT-G tool. There was moderate to strong correlation between associated subscales including QOL-CS physical to FACT physical (r=0.74), QOL-CS Psych to FACT Emotional (r=0.65), QOL Social to FACT Social (r=0.44). The overall QOL-CS correlation with the FACT-G was 0.78. Additional measures of validity included correlations of indimeasures of validity included correlations of individual items of the QOL-CS tool, factor analysis, and construct validity discriminating known groups of cancer survivors. Findings demonstrated that the QOL-CS and its subscales adequately measured QOL in this growing population of cancer survivors.     

Fatigue mediates the effects of exercise on quality of life

Purpose: Fatigue is a common side effect of cancer treatment that impacts quality of life. Exercise is one approach suggested to improve fatigue. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship of exercise to fatigue and quality of life. Methods: Thirty-one subjects with breast cancer were enrolled prior to beginning chemotherapy and 27 completed the study. All baseline measures were obtained before the first chemotherapy treatment. Subjects were instructed on a home-based, 8-week exercise program. Results: Women who adopted the exercise program (60%) showed significant increases in functional ability and less weight gain. Exploratory, stepwise multiple regression analyses suggested that the maximum effect of exercise on quality of life outcomes may be mediated by fatigue. Conclusions: The low-to-moderate intensity, home-based exercise program was feasible for some women with breast cancer receiving chemotherapy. The results suggest that exercise may affect quality of life and that this effect may be mediated by the effects of exercise on fatigue. Better retention of functional ability and better weight control are additional possible benefits of exposing breast cancer patients to increased exercise. A randomized, controlled clinical trial is needed to establish confidence in these observed relationships.     

Lifestyle and quality of life in colorectal cancer survivors

Purpose  

As cancer survival rates improve, there is growing interest in the role of lifestyle in longer-term health and quality of life (QoL). This study examined the prevalence of health-related behaviours, and the associations between health behaviours and QoL, in colorectal cancer survivors.     

Associations between sitting time and quality of life in a population-based sample of kidney cancer survivors

BackgroundAdverse health effects of sedentary behaviour on cancer risk and health outcomes in cancer survivors have been reported but few studies have examined quality of life (QoL) and no study has focused on kidney cancer survivors (KCS). The purpose of this study was to estimate the prevalence of sitting time among KCS and to determine any associations with QoL.MethodsAll 1985 KCS diagnosed between 1996 and 2010 identified through a Canadian provincial Registry were mailed a survey that consisted of the modified domain-specific sitting time questionnaire, the Godin Leisure Time Exercise Questionnaire and several Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy (FACT) QoL scales. Standard demographic and medical variables were also reported.ResultsCompleted surveys were received from 540 KCS. The mean hours of sitting time were 8.0 ± 4.7 for a work-day and 6.5 ± 3.8 for a non-work day. After adjustment for key covariates, analyses of covariance indicated that the only significant relationship was an unexpected positive association between sitting time on a work day and emotional well-being (p = 0.019). Moreover, the only variable to moderate these associations was age, with younger KCS under age 60 showing the expected negative associations between sitting time and physical and functional aspects of QoL.ConclusionKCS sit for a significant amount of time on work days and non-work days, however, there were few associations with QoL. Future observational studies and randomized controlled trials are warranted to examine sitting time and health outcomes among KCS.     

Health-related quality of life factors associated with completion of a study delivering lifestyle exercise intervention for endometrial cancer survivors

Purpose

The aim of this study was to examine associations between participants’ quality of life and study completion. This is a secondary analysis of an exercise intervention study for endometrial cancer survivors.

Methods

We considered data for one-hundred post-treatment endometrial cancer survivors from a single-arm, six-month longitudinal exercise study. Participants received a home-based intervention consisting of exercise recommendations and telephone counseling sessions to encourage adherence. In addition to monitoring adherence to physical exercise recommendations, participants completed multiple psychological assessments, including health-related quality of life. Associations between study completion and health-related quality of life factors were analyzed using generalized additive models, to allow for possibly nonlinear associations.

Results

Measures of bodily pain contributed to the odds of study completion in a nonlinear way (p = 0.025), suggesting that improvements in these factors were associated with study completion, especially for individuals reporting very high levels of pain. In addition, association between participants’ levels of anxiety and study completion showed an inverse U-shaped relation: Whereas increase in anxiety was associated with higher odds of completion for individuals with low anxiety score (0–4), increase in anxiety contributed to lower odds of study completion for individuals with anxiety scores of approximately 5–10 (p = 0.035).

Conclusions

Results from this study indicate that baseline health-related quality of life factors may be associated with study completion in exercise intervention studies. In order to increase study completion rates, individually tailored study strategies may be prepared based on the baseline quality of life responses.

     

An investigation into the relationships between quality of life, nutritional status and physical function

BACKGROUND & AIMS: The measurement of quality of life adds a holistic dimension to the assessment of a clinical state or the response to an intervention. The relationship between quality of life and nutritional status is not well studied. This study aimed to investigate this relationship in a group of sick elderly in-patients. METHODS: We used data from a RCT investigating the benefits of intensive feeding support on acute medicine for the elderly wards. The EuroQol EQ-5D questionnaire was administered to patients on admission and the results were then related to parameters of nutritional status, physical function, depression and serum albumin collected at the same time. RESULTS: Two hundred and thirty-three patients completed the EQ-5D questionnaire. Comparisons with UK norms for community living elderly showed significantly lower scores. No direct relationship was found between the EQ-5D scores and markers of nutritional status. However, clear differences were observed between patients with and without swallowing problems, those with good and poor appetite and those with good and poor physical function. Increasing risk of depression had a profound effect on quality of life scores. CONCLUSIONS: Nutritional status does not appear to directly influence quality of life, as measured by the EQ-5D, but may affect it through the consequences of reduced physical function. Additionally, factors that directly affect a persons food intake seem to have a greater impact on quality of life, which underlines the importance of food and eating as an aspect of life quality.     

Parent‐child relationships and quality of life: Resilience among childhood cancer survivors*

Abstract: According to The Resiliency Model of Family Stress, Adjustment, and Adaptation, certain family strengths can promote positive outcomes for children undergoing adverse or stressful circumstances. We proposed that chief among these potential strengths are high quality parent‐child relationships. Data from self‐report questionnaires from 190 long‐term survivors (3+ years posttreatment) of childhood cancer were analyzed. The findings indicated that survivors who report better relationships with their mothers and fathers consistently report a higher quality of life, especially in the psychological domain. Although survivors reported better relationships with their mothers than with their fathers, father‐child relations were associated more highly with survivors’ reports of selective quality of life scales. Important implications for family therapists and practitioners are discussed, especially those that employ a growth or resilience approach.