Associations between health-related quality of life and physical activity in bladder cancer survivors: A cross-sectional study.

Abstract

432 Background: Physical activity has been shown to significantly improve health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and survivorship in a variety of cancer patients. However, little is known about the physical activity patterns of bladder cancer survivors and how these are related to HRQOL in the United States. Our objective was to describe HRQOL and self-reported physical activity patterns and examine the association between these measures in a large cohort of bladder cancer survivors. Methods: Bladder cancer survivors identified through an institutional database were mailed a survey that included the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy Bladder Cancer (FACT-Bl) and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ-L). Results: A total of 466 subjects (49% response rate) completed the survey. The mean age was 73 years, 80% were male, and 88% were White. Linear regression indicated a positive correlation between physical activity and physical well being (PWB, P < 0.001), emotional well being (EWB, P < 0.001), and functional well being (FWB, P < 0.001) subscales, as well as the FACT-Bl (P < 0.001), FACT general (P < 0.001), and trial outcome index (TOI, P < 0.001) composite scores. Conversely, total daily sitting time was negatively correlated with all of the aforementioned indices. Adjusting for demographic factors did not alter the findings. Conclusions: Physical activity is positively associated with HRQOL in bladder cancer survivors. Further studies investigating the causal relationship between physical activity and HRQOL in the post-treatment setting in bladder cancer survivors are warranted.