Interaction between Physical Activity and Socioeconomic Determinants among Cancer Patients: A Systematic Mapping Review

Abstract

Socioeconomic factors and physical activity (PA), have been recognized as key factors affecting survival and quality of life of cancer patients. Nevertheless, less is known about their interactions among cancer patients. A mapping systematic review was undertaken to identify gaps in the literature regarding the interactions of socioeconomic factors and PA and the identification of theoretical model to define this relationship. A search for peer-reviewed English articles published between January 2010 and March 2020 in Medline, PsycINFO, Web of Science and SportDiscus databases was realized using three keywords: physical activity, cancer, socioeconomic. Cancer location and time, socioeconomic factor measurement, PA measurement, intervention and theoretical model were analyzed. Of the J Cancer Sci Clin Ther 2021; 5 (4): 468-495 DOI: 10.26502/jcsct.5079132 Journal of Cancer Science and Clinical Therapeutics 469 5163 articles found, 90 were included (86 observational studies and 4 interventions). While many studies evaluate socioeconomic factors and PA, authors often do not consider their interactions, but test them separately. Socioeconomic factors identified in the studies ranged among 12 categories (age, sex, ethnicity, education, income, occupation, residence, green space exposure, marital status, household, social support, Health insurance). A high diversity of measurements within each category led to a huge variation in the definition of socioeconomic factors and refrained comparison between studies. Similar conclusions could be drawn with regard to the diversity of PA measurements. Only few studies mobilized theoretical models, without considering the interactions between socioeconomic factors and PA. The definition of socioeconomic factors as well as theoretical modeling of how socioeconomic factors interact with PA among cancer patients needs to be clarified.