Physical Activity Level in children undergoing cancer treatment

Abstract

ABSTRACT Background Although cancer in children is rare, it is the leading cause of death by disease during childhood. Due to successful multimodal treatment and growing survival rates, the number of childhood cancer survivors is growing. However, a significant amount of children suffer from long-term deficits and side effects of treatment. This result in a lower quality of life, reduced physical activity (PA), decreased muscle strength and decreased cardiorespiratory fitness compared to healthy age-matched children fitness. To improve and evaluate PA, it is necessary to provide baseline information of objectively measured PA level of children with childhood cancer undergoing cancer treatment. So the primary objective of this study is to determine objectively measured PA level of children with childhood cancer during treatment measured by accelerometer in hospital and home setting. Procedure The PA level of twenty-five children undergoing cancer treatment was objectively measured using the Actical accelerometer (Philips Respironics, Mini Mitter Co, Inc., Bend, OR) in an observational cross-sectional study design. Differences in PA level by age, cancer type, sex, functional performance status (scored by the Lansky Score), setting (hospital or home setting) and week and weekend days were analysed. Results Data show that all 25 children score below the recommendations of guidelines for PA level in duration as well as in intensity of PA. The average percentage per day per PA level is, 91,7 % Sedentary Behavior, 7,8% light PA en 0,5 % in Moderate-to-Vigorous PA. There are significant differences in PA level between subgroups of setting (home or hospital) and in functional performance status (scored by the Lansky Score). Conclusion All participants score far below the recommendations of guidelines for PA. It is strongly recommended to determine the limitations and benefits of PA in children during cancer treatment and differences in perceptions of capability of PA of these children. With the growing population of childhood cancer survivors, substantiated PA guidelines and advices should be developed. PA for these children should be encouraged and stimulated to minimize the side effects during and after treatment to improve the quality of life.