ISLAMABAD JAN 13 (ONLINE): Globally, cancer is the top cause of death. Experts are interested in finding multiple strategies to combat cancer, including exercise.
A study recently published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine explored how physical activity levels before cancer diagnosis affected cancer progression and mortality among participants in South Africa.
Including data from over 28,000 participants with stage 1 cancers, the study found that physical activity before cancer diagnosis was associated with lower mortality and cancer progression.
This research was a retrospective longitudinal observational study. It used anonymized data from people on the medical plan Discovery Health Medical Scheme in South Africa.
All participants were also part of a health promotion program called Vitality. This program is linked to the Discovery Health Medical Scheme and encourages behaviors like physical activity. It also allows physical activity to be recorded through wearable fitness devices and other actions like clocked gym attendance.
Researchers included participants in their analysis who had stage 1 cancer and had been in the Vitality program for at least 1 year before their diagnosis. They also conducted a subanalysis that excluded certain cancer types that were more likely to affect physical activity levels prior to diagnosis.
The average time participants were in the Vitality program was nine and a half years. Researchers divided participants into three groups based on physical activity levels:
none: no recorded physical activity
low: 1-59 minutes of recorded physical activity a week
moderate to high: 1 hour or more of recorded physical activity a week.
For this study, physical activity meant at least moderate intensity, and researchers assigned participants into categories based on their physical activity in the 12 months before cancer diagnosis, although additional analysis considered earlier activity, too.
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