Abstract B08: Correlations between weight gain and physical health among African American breast cancer survivors

Abstract

Abstract Purpose: Weight gain after diagnosis is common among women with breast cancer and may affect physical functioning and recurrence; yet few studies have addressed this problem among African American breast cancer survivors. The purpose of our study was to examine associations between weight gain and physical functioning in a population with disparities in overweight/obesity, health-related quality of life (HR-QoL) and breast cancer recurrence. Procedures: We examined the effects of weight gain in a cohort of 220 African-American women diagnosed with breast cancer. Participants completed a 45-minute assessment tool recording weight and breast cancer history, physical health and general well being. Factorial analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to assess the association between weight gain (pounds) and HR-QoL. We also determined the moderating effects of demographic variables on post-breast cancer diagnosis weight gain. Results: More than half of the study sample (n=113) gained 10 pounds or more after breast cancer diagnosis. Predictors for weight gain included: 1) breast cancer recurrence-78% (p=0.0067); 2) annual income- from $25,000 to $49,999 55% (p=0.0167); 3) some college education-51% (0.0205), and 4) unmarried 46% (p=0.0007). Participants reporting poorer overall quality of life (p=0.0109), poorer physical health quality of life (p=0.0002), and poorer physical functioning (p=0.0263) were more likely to report weight gain after breast cancer diagnosis than those who reported a better quality of life. Conclusions: These results highlight the importance of weight control for African American women after breast cancer diagnosis. Citation Format: Selina A. Smith, Mechelle D. Claridy, Mary S. Whitehead, Joyce Q. Sheats, Bakak Baban, Wonsuk Yoo, Ruben R. Gonzalez-Perez, Ernest Alema-Mensah. Correlations between weight gain and physical health among African American breast cancer survivors. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Seventh AACR Conference on The Science of Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; Nov 9-12, 2014; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2015;24(10 Suppl):Abstract nr B08.