Work

Physical activity and quality of life in breast cancer survivors: the role of self-efficacy and health status

Year: 2013

Type: article

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: Mechanisms underlying the relationship between physical activity and quality of life (QOL) in breast cancer survivors are not well understood. The purpose of the present study was to longitudinally test a model examining self-efficacy and health status as potential mediators of this relationship. METHODS: At baseline and 6 months, breast cancer survivors (n = 1527) completed physical activity, self-efficacy, health status, and QOL measures, and a subsample (n = 370) wore an accelerometer. Panel analysis within a covariance modeling framework was used to test the hypothesis that physical activity indirectly influences QOL across time. RESULTS: The hypothesized model provided a good fit in the full sample (χ(2) = 409.06; d.f. = 91, p < 0.001; comparative fit index (CFI) = 0.98; standardized root mean residual (SRMR) = 0.04) and the accelerometer subsample (χ(2) = 320.96, d.f. = 134, p < 0.001; CFI = 0.95; SRMR = 0.05), indicating that physical activity indirectly, via self-efficacy and health status indicators, influences QOL across time. CONCLUSIONS: Physical activity may influence QOL in breast cancer survivors through more proximal, modifiable factors.

Source: Psycho-Oncology

DOI: 10.1002/pon.3366

Authors: Siobhan M. Phillips, Edward McAuley

Institution: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Language: English

Topic: Cancer survivorship and care

Subfield: Oncology

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: bronze

Funders: National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Aging