Lifestyle behaviors among US cancer survivors

Abstract

Cancer survivors are at increased risk for comorbid conditions, and acceptance of healthy behaviors may reduce dysfunction and improve long-term health. Ultimately, opportunities exist for clinicians to promote lifestyle changes that may improve the length and quality of life of their patients.

Social inequality in cancer survivors’ health behaviours-A Danish population-based study

“…These three studies are all of older date, whereas a recent study by Mowls et al. () has shown similar results as in our study. This could indicate that the policy regulations and mass media campaigns in the last decade emphasising the harmful consequences of tobacco have been successful.…”

“…This may be due to the physical limitations individuals with these cancer sites may endure such as having a colostomy, reduced lung capacity and other symptom burdens and poor prognosis that may hinder an active lifestyle. In line with our results, some studies have found that cancer survivors are less likely to be physically active than those with no history of cancer (Kim, Wallington, Makambi, & Adams‐Campbell, ; Mowls et al., ; Wang et al., ), and other studies show no differences between the groups (Berry et al., ; Eakin et al., ; Mayer et al., ), or that cancer survivors are physically more active than the non‐cancer group (Bellizzi et al., ). The way physical activity was measured in the studies varies a lot which could be part of the explanation of these inconclusive results.…”

“…In relation to dietary habits, no differences were seen between cancer survivors and the non‐cancer group; however, looking at specific cancer sites, we found that bladder, lung and oral cancer survivors had poorer dietary habits compared to individuals with no history of cancer. It was difficult to compare our results with those of previous studies on dietary habits as we used a comprehensive measure of dietary habits including intake of fish, saturated fat, fruits and vegetables; and to our knowledge, all previous studies included only intake of fruits and vegetables as a proxy for dietary habits (Berry et al., ; Eakin et al., ; Mayer et al., ; Mowls et al., ; Wang et al., ). Most of these studies showed no differences between cancer survivors and matched controls with no history of cancer (Berry et al., ; Eakin et al., ; Mayer et al., ; Mowls et al., ).…”

“…Our study showed that 8% of cancer survivors had high‐risk alcohol consumption. Few studies have investigated the differences in alcohol intake between cancer survivors and individuals with no history of cancer (Bellizzi et al., ; Berry et al., ; Mowls et al., ). In line with our result, two American studies (Bellizzi et al., ; Berry et al., ) show that cancer survivors, in general, were similar to non‐cancer controls with respect to alcohol use.…”

“…Inspired by previous research on health behaviour among cancer survivors (Bellizzi et al, 2005;Berry et al, 2014;Eakin et al, 2007;Mayer et al, 2007;Mowls, Brame, Martinez, & Beebe, 2016;Wang et al, 2015), odds ratios were adjusted for age, gender, ethnicity, cohabitation status, multimorbidity and educational attainment where the analyses were not stratified by educational level. Missing data did not exceed 4.9% for any of the variables, and missing data were not excluded before any of the analyses.…”