A scoping review of studies exploring physical activity among adolescents and young adults diagnosed with cancer

ObjectivePhysical activity can improve health, functional capacity, and quality of life among children and adults diagnosed with cancer. Physical activity may also offer important benefits to adolescents and young adults diagnosed with cancer (AYAs). We conducted a scoping review to: determine the extent, range, and nature of published studies on physical activity among AYAs; identify knowledge gaps; and provide directions for future research. MethodsWe searched 4 electronic databases for published studies. Two authors independently scanned the titles, abstracts, and full-texts against inclusion criteria: original research with humans, published in an English-language peer-reviewed journal, 50% of participants were diagnosed with cancer between the ages of 15 and 39years, and included at least 1 measure of physical activity behavior. Data were extracted from studies meeting these criteria and subsequently summarized narratively. ResultsOur search yielded 4729 articles; 32 met inclusion criteria. These included 18 cross-sectional and 4 longitudinal studies that explored descriptive (ie, sociodemographic or medical), physical, personal/psychological, social, other health behaviors, and/or other factors as antecedents or correlates of physical activity. The remaining 10 were intervention studies that focused on changing physical activity behavior or on testing the effects of physical activity. ConclusionsWe can conclude that physical activity is not well researched among AYAs. More high-quality research adopting longitudinal or intervention study designs that incorporate a range of descriptive, physical, personal/psychological, social, and environmental measures are warranted to better inform the development of behavior change interventions as well as to establish the benefits of physical activity for AYAs.