TY  - JOUR
A1  - Müller, Carsten
A1  - Krauth, Konstantin A.
A1  - Gerß, Joachim
A1  - Rosenbaum, Dieter
T1  - Physical activity and health-related quality of life in pediatric cancer patients following a 4-week inpatient rehabilitation program
T2  - Supportive Care in Cancer
N2  - Abstract
Purpose

Chronic health conditions and impaired quality of life are commonly experienced in childhood cancer survivors. While rehabilitation clinics support patients in coping with the disease, studies evaluating an inpatient rehabilitation program on promoting physical activity (PA) and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) are missing.
Methods

A 4-week inpatient rehabilitation program was prospectively evaluated. One hundred fifty patients with leukemia or lymphoma (N = 86), brain tumors (N = 38), and sarcomas (N = 26) were enrolled on average 17 months after cessation of acute medical treatment. PA amount and cadence (indicating the intensity of walking activity) using the StepWatch™ 3 Activity Monitor and HRQoL global and physical well-being scores using the KINDL® questionnaire were assessed before, immediately after, and 6 and 12 months following the program and analyzed using multiple linear mixed models.
Results

Significant effects on PA were only found at 12-month follow-up for amount and cadence variables (all p < 0.05). While leukemia and lymphoma patients revealed the highest PA level throughout the study, rehabilitation effects were more pronounced for cadence variables in brain tumor and sarcoma patients. The rehabilitation program had immediate (t = 4.56, p < 0.001) and sustainable effects on HRQoL global scores (6-month follow-up, t = 4.08, p < 0.001; 12-month follow-up, t = 3.13, p < 0.006).
Conclusions

Immediate and sustainable increases in HRQoL indicate that a 4-week rehabilitation program is beneficial for improving psychosocial well-being, while the significant increase in PA levels could be related to general recovery as well. The lack of a control group hampers the evaluation of the rehabilitation program on promoting PA levels in pediatric cancer patients.
KW  - physical activity
KW  - quality of life
KW  - rehabilitation
KW  - pediatric oncology
KW  - childhood cancer
Y1  - 2016
UR  - https://www.hb.fh-muenster.de/opus4/frontdoor/index/index/docId/16840
UR  - https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00520-016-3198-y#citeas
VL  - 24
SP  - 3793
EP  - 3802
ER  -