Credit: Jason E. Miller
Physical activity may reduce the risk of mortality in male cancer survivors, according to research published in the Journal of Physical Activity & Health.
In a study of more than 1000 male cancer survivors, participants who were most active—expending more than 12,600 kilojoules per week in physical activity—cut their risk of death roughly in half.
This was in comparison to the least active cancer survivors—those who burned fewer than 2100 kilojoules per week.
Kathleen Y. Wolin, PhD, of Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine, and her colleagues conducted this research using data from the Harvard Alumni Health Study, an ongoing study of men who entered Harvard as undergraduates between 1916 and 1950.
The researchers looked at 1021 men, with an average age of 71, who had been diagnosed with cancers.
In 1988, the men completed questionnaires reporting their physical activities, including walking, stair-climbing, and participation in sports and recreational activities. Their physical activities were updated in 1993, and researchers followed the men until 2008.
In all, 777 of the men died—337 from cancer, 190 from cardiovascular disease, 228 from other causes, and 22 from unknown causes.
Compared with men who expended fewer than 2100 kilojoules per week in physical activity, men who expended more than 12,600 kilojoules per week were 48% less likely to die of any cause during the follow-up period. (Expending 12,600 kilojoules can be achieved with about 6 to 8 hours of moderate-intensity physical activity.)
This finding was adjusted for age, smoking habits, body mass index, early parental mortality, and dietary variables.
When the researchers tried to adjust for cancer severity and treatment, they were only able to collect data for 70 men. But the results were not very different from the prior analysis. The most active men were 49% less likely to die of any cause than the least active men.
The team also decided to analyze men who were diagnosed with cancer at least 5 years before baseline (n=421). And among these men, the most active were 52% less likely than the least active to die.
Similarly, among men diagnosed at least 10 years before baseline (n=262), the most active cancer survivors were 63% less likely to die of any cause than the least active survivors.
The researchers also obtained similar results when they assessed mortality from cancer and cardiovascular disease. The most physically active cancer survivors were 38% less likely to die of cancer and 49% less likely to die of cardiovascular disease during follow-up.
