The effect of depression/anxiety on physical activity in breast cancer patients

Purpose: The potential health benefits of physical activity (PA) for women with breast cancer may be reduced by related symptoms of depression and anxiety. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between total Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) scores on depression and anxiety and PA measured objectively in female breast cancer patients (BCPs) at the Nova Scotia Cancer Centre in Halifax, Canada.

Methods: To date, we have recruited 49 participants for a study examining PA in BCPs residing in Nova Scotia. For this submission, we report preliminary baseline data from 42 participants (mean age=56 years; mean BMI=27.5 kg/m2) who completed a questionnaire and wore an Actigraph accelerometer for nine days. The first and last days of wear time were excluded in order to calculate the average minutes per day of moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) (mean=44 minutes).

Results: A multiple regression test on average minutes per day of MVPA with depression and anxiety as the predictors and BMI as a covariate yielded a significant R of 0.50, F (3,31) = 3.38, p<.05. The overall model fit was R2= 0.25. In the context of the model, total scores on depression (β = -.60, p<.05) and total scores on anxiety (β = .61, p<.05) significantly predicted average minutes per day of MVPA.

Conclusions: According to the results, anxiety is positively associated with MVPA while depression is negatively associated with MVPA. This indicates the importance of assessing symptoms and targeting interventions separately instead of globally for depression and anxiety in BCPs.