141st APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

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277367
State variations in physical activity compliance among cancer survivors


Sunday, November 3, 2013

Stacey L. Tannenbaum, PhD, RD, LD/N, Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL
Laura A. McClure, MSPH, Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL
Taghrid Asfar, MD, MSPH, Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL
Tainya Clarke, MPH, MS, Department of Epidemiology & Public Health, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL
Jenelle Lin, BS, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL
Kristopher L. Arheart, Ed.D., Department of Public Health Sciences, Division of Biostatistics, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL
David J. Lee, PhD, Epidemiology & Public Health, University of Miami, Miami, FL
Background: Cancer survivors who engage in physical activity (PA) benefit with improved quality of life, physical functioning, and reduced fatigue. PA has also been shown to reduce all-cause mortality, breast and colorectal-specific mortality, and cancer recurrence rates. While state-level prevalence of cancer and PA are readily accessible, information about compliance to PA guidelines in cancer survivors is unavailable at the state level.

Methods: Pooled data from the 1997-2010 National Health Interview Survey were used to determine state-level prevalence and ranking of PA compliance among cancer survivors based on the 2012 American Cancer Society guidelines of ≥150 minutes of PA/week. Trend analysis with weighted linear regression of prevalence on year and group (with and without cancer) was performed (n=28,338).

Results: Cancer survivors showed a similar trend to those with no cancer history over the 14 years of the study. Overall, only 28% of cancer survivors were compliant to PA guidelines. The lowest compliance for survivors was seen in Mississippi (15.3%, 95% CI: 9.3-24.2) and Louisiana (15.4%, 10.2-22.7). Maine had the highest compliance, a three-fold higher prevalence than both Mississippi and Louisiana, and nearly half of cancer survivors in Maine met the guidelines (47.5%, 45.0-50.0). Of the 10 lowest ranked states in our study, 50% of them were located in the southern US.

Conclusion: Our results indicate that compliance to PA guidelines in cancer survivors is low in the US and varies by state markedly. Interventions targeted towards states with lowest PA compliance, particularly southern states, are needed.

Learning Areas:

Chronic disease management and prevention
Epidemiology
Public health or related organizational policy, standards, or other guidelines

Learning Objectives:
Describe all of the benefits associated with physical activity for cancer survivors. Compare prevalence of physical activity compliance in cancer survivors among the 50 states plus the District of Columbia. Discuss possible reasons why certain states have very low prevalence of physical activity compliance

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have been working as a scientist on federally funded grants with linked data sets in order to study the impact of various health-related behaviors on cancer survivors. I have published and presented other work from this grant. I am currently working on other data linkages with the Florida Cancer Registry in order to understand other predictors of healthy behaviors in cancer survivors.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 2026.0: Chronic Disease Epidemiology Poster Session 1