title: Physical activity, fatigue and quality of life in breast cancer patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  to evaluate the relationship between levels of physical activity, fatigue and quality of life (QOL) in women diagnosed with breast cancer.
  
  
  METHODS
  215 women between the ages of 40 and 65 years were recruited at a cancer clinic. Physical activity levels were assessed by using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ), fatigue levels by using the revised Piper scale, and QOL by means of EORTC QLQ-C30 and WHOQOL-Bref. Statistical analysis was performed using Minitab statistical software, version 16.
  
  
  RESULTS
  the mean age of subjects was 52.66 years (SD=8.6); patients were mostly white (58.14%) and overweight (55.81%). Most women were fatigued (72.09%) while physically active women showed lower symptoms of fatigue (p<0.001). Mean scores for QOL were significantly lower among fatigued women (p<0.001). More active women scored higher on all scales of QOL (EORTC), especially for functional capacity (p<0.001), compared with the sedentary patients. A significant association was found between level of physical activity and overall QOL (WHOQOL-Bref) for all domains (p<0.001). Climacteric symptoms ranged from mild to strong and did not show any statistically significant results; however, the most active women had the fewest symptoms.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  physical activity appears to positively influence fatigue and QOL in women diagnosed with breast cancer.
authors.affiliation: Health Sciences Graduate Program, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, RN, Brazil.
authors.forename: Ana Carla Gomes
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Canário
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Education, Universidade Estadual do Piauí, Teresina, PI, Brazil.
authors.forename: Patricia Uchoa Leitão
authors.initials: PU
authors.lastname: Cabral
authors.affiliation: Health Sciences Graduate Program, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, RN, Brazil.
authors.forename: Lucila Corsino
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: de Paiva
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Education, Faculdade Mauricio de Nassau, Recife, PE, Brazil.
authors.forename: Gilzandra Lira Dantas
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Florencio
authors.affiliation: Demographics Graduate Program, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, RN, Brazil.
authors.forename: Maria Helena
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Spyrides
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, RN, Brazil.
authors.forename: Ana Katherine da Silveira
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Gonçalves
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000628:therapy; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D015444:Exercise / Q000502:physiology*; D005221:Fatigue / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology; D011788:Quality of Life; D057185:Sedentary Behavior; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors