ASPO Abstracts
Adherence To Lifestyle Recommendations Regarding Physical Activity, Diet, Smoking And BMI in Cancer Survivors living in Central Pennsylvania
Category: Survivorship & Health Outcomes/Comparative Effectiveness Research, Lifestyles Behavior, Energy Balance & Chemoprevention
Conference Year: 2018
Abstract Body:
Purpose: Assess adherence to lifestyle recommendations for physical activity, diet, smoking and BMI in cancer survivors in Central Pennsylvania & assess which social, personal determinants were associated with adherence. Methods: A survey on health-related lifestyle factors was send to breast, colorectal, gynecologic, lung, and prostate cancer survivors in Central Pennsylvania (PA) facilitated by the PA Cancer Registry in 2017. The survey included questions on current BMI, smoking status, physical activity level, and diet, and on personal and social characteristics. We assessed adherence to the WCRF/AICR recommendations for cancer prevention, as they are also recommended for cancer survivors. Respondents were assigned 1 point for each of the following recommendation they adhered to: BMI between 20-25 kg/m2, currently not smoking, consumption of 5 or more servings of fruits/vegetables per day and being physically active at least 30 minutes/day (maximum score 4 points). We assessed the association between adherence and the following social/personal factors: rurality, age, educational status, living with a partner, being Hispanic or non-Hispanic, having comorbidities, and general self-reported health. Results: The response rate to the survey was ~27%. The average age of the respondents was 66 years. The overall score for adherence was 1.6 points which was largely driven by the high adherence to the recommendation not to smoke (91% of the respondent stated not to smoke). None of the respondents reported a daily intake of 5 or more servings of fruits/vegetables daily, 47% of the respondents reported to be sufficiently active, 20% had a BMI between 20 and 25. The following characteristics were associated with a lower total score: living in a rural area, being younger, having less education, living without a partner, being Hispanic. Scores were similar for persons with or without comorbidities. Persons who reported fair/poor overall health general had a lower score than persons reporting good-excellent overall health. Conclusion: Adherence to lifestyle recommendations was low among PA cancer survivors. In addition, our results suggest that any public health interventions to improve lifestyle of cancer survivors should be tailored towards groups.
Keywords: Survivorship; health disparities; nutrition; physical activity.