257789 Associations between Physical Activity and Serious Psychological Distress and Receiving Treatment for Mental and Emotional Problems among Cancer Survivors: Findings from the 2009 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System

Monday, October 29, 2012

Guixiang Zhao, MD, PhD , Division of Behavioral Surveillance, Office of Surveillance, Epidemiology and Laboratory Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA
Chaoyang Li, MD, PhD , Division of Behavioral Surveillance, Office of Surveillance, Epidemiology and Laboratory Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA
Jun Li, MD, PhD , Division of Cancer Prevention and Control, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA
Lina S. Balluz, ScD, MPH , National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA
Objectives: To examine the prevalence of serious psychological distress and receiving treatment for mental/emotional problems and to assess their associations with physical activity patterns among cancer survivors in the United States.

Methods: We analyzed data (n=6,452) collected from cancer survivors aged ≥18 years who resided in 8 states and participated in the 2009 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. Participants were considered to have serious psychological distress if their total Kessler-6 score was ≥13. Receiving treatment for mental/emotional problems was self-reported.

Results: Of all cancer survivors, 5.8% (95% CI: 4.6-7.2%) reported having serious psychological distress and 13.8% (95% CI: 12.3-1.4%) reported receiving treatment for mental/emotional problems; the percentages decreased linearly with increases in physical activity levels. After multivariate adjustment, compared to cancer survivors who were physically inactive, those who engaged in physical activity >0 to <150 min/week or ≥150 min/week were 64% and 75% less likely to experience serious psychological distress and 28% and 43% less likely to receive treatment for mental/emotional problems, respectively (P<0.001 for all comparisons). The inverse relationship between physical activity and receiving treatment for mental/emotional problems persisted among women with breast or reproductive cancers and among both men and women with gastrointestinal and skin cancers but not with other cancers.

Conclusion: Physical activity participation was inversely associated with having serious psychological distress or receiving treatment for mental/emotional problems among cancer survivors. These results suggest that physical activity interventions may have a potential role in improving mental health among cancer survivors, although a temporal relationship deserves further investigation.

Learning Areas:
Chronic disease management and prevention
Epidemiology
Public health or related research

Learning Objectives:
1) To learn how prevalent the serious psychological distress and receiving treatment for mental/emotional problems are among cancer survivors in the United States. 2) To study the associations between physical activity patterns and having serious psychological distress or receiving treatment for mental/emotional problems among adults with cancer overall and with type of cancer.

Keywords: Physical Activity, Mental Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am an epidemiologist and a lead author for the abstract submitted.
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: 3184.2: Exercise and Physical Activity Poster Session