Relationship between physical activity and quality of life among patients with respiratory and digestive system cancer during and outside the COVID-19 pandemic.

Purpose: To investigate the relationship between physical activity (PA) and quality of life (QOL) among patients with respiratory and digestive system cancers during and outside of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: A longitudinal, repeated-measures observational design was employed, and data were collected from outpatient clinics and wards during both the pandemic and a nonpandemic period at baseline (T1) and 3 months postrecruitment (T2). The Bouchard 3-Day Physical Activity Record questionnaire and the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Quality of Life Core Questionnaire (physical function subscale) were used to measure PA and QOL, respectively.

Results: A total of 313 patients with various cancers (including lung, esophageal, gastric, pancreatic, and colon cancers) participated in this study. Light-intensity PA was significantly and positively correlated with the physical function dimension of QOL during both the pandemic (r = 0.31, p < 0.001) and nonpandemic (r = 0.15, p = 0.010) periods. Furthermore, light-intensity PA was a significant predictor of the physical function dimension of QOL during both the pandemic and nonpandemic periods (B = 0.04, p < 0.001; B = 0.02, p = 0.007, respectively).

Conclusions: Light-intensity PA is a critical predictor of the physical function domain of QOL in patients with respiratory and digestive system cancers during both pandemic and nonpandemic periods. Promoting engagement in tolerable PA may improve the health of these patients.