Exploring Associations of Sedentary Behavior and Physical Activity with Quality of Life in Young Adult Cancer Survivors

Purpose: To explore sedentary behavior, physical activity (PA), and quality of life (QoL) in young adult cancer survivors (YACS), a population that is underrepresented in the literature. Methods: YACS 18-44 years of age, recruited through social media and cancer support group websites (e.g., Young Adult Cancer Canada), completed an online survey, which assessed sedentary behavior, PA, and QoL using validated measures (i.e., The SIT-Q, Leisure Score Index [LSI], Short Form-36 Health Survey [SF-36], and Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy: General [FACT-G]). Results: Results indicated that YACS accumulated an average of 13.0 (SD = 4.6) hours/day of total sedentary time and reported watching TV for an average of 2.3 (SD = 1.9) hours/day. For PA, participants reported a mean of 113 minutes/week of moderate-to-vigorous PA (SD = 132) and low levels of resistance exercise (M = 26 minutes/week, SD = 58). Almost a third of the participants met the public health-recommended PA guidelines, and moderate-to-vigorous PA was positively correlated with the physical component score (PCS) (r = 0.3, p < 0.01) of the SF-36. Regression analyses showed that moderate-to-vigorous PA significantly predicted the PCS [F(1, 93)= 10.6, p < 0.01, R-2 = 0.1], whereas napping and TV viewing time were inversely associated with the PCS [F(2, 93)= 69, p < 0.01, R-2 = 0.1]. Conclusion: Total sedentary behavior, while considerable, was not related to QoL in YACS. However, TV watching was negatively associated with QoL, suggesting the importance of measuring TV watching and other domain-specific behaviors in studies on sedentary behavior. PA levels were also associated with QoL levels in YACS.