Circadian actigraphic rest–activity rhythms following surgery for endometrial cancer: A prospective, longitudinal study

Abstract

ObjectiveTo investigate (1) circadian rest–activity rhythm disturbances among endometrial cancer patients as they recover from surgery in comparison to a historical reference group of women with no cancer history and (2) health- and treatment-related predictors of dysregulated rest–activity rhythms in endometrial cancer patients. Methods60 endometrial cancer patients participated in a prospective, longitudinal study with actigraphic assessment at 1week, 1month, and 4months post-surgery. 60 women without cancer from an epidemiological sample completed one actigraphic assessment, acting as a reference group. ResultsOn average, results revealed initial significant rest–activity dysregulation at 1week and 1month post-surgery for the endometrial cancer group and then significant recovery in rest–activity patterns at 4months post-surgery. Similarly, the cancer group had significantly more impaired rhythms than the reference group at 1week post-surgery, but demonstrated comparable rhythms by 4months post-surgery. Among the health- and treatment-related variables examined, obesity and receipt of more invasive surgery were found to predict more impaired rhythms at all time points. Conclusion(s)The current study highlights significant disturbances in rest–activity patterns for endometrial cancer patients initially during surgical recovery followed by improvement in these patterns by 4months post-surgery; however, obese patients and those having more invasive surgery demonstrated more impaired rest–activity patterns throughout the 4-month recovery period. Further research is warranted to understand how more impaired rest–activity patterns relate to health and quality of life outcomes.