AUTHOR=Li Hongmei , Sang Die , Gong Lijing , Wang Boliang , Wang Yong , Jia Xiao , Yu Jingjing , Kong Zhenxing , Liu Haiyun , Zhang Yimin 

TITLE=Improving physical and mental health in women with breast cancer undergoing anthracycline-based chemotherapy through wearable device-based aerobic exercise: a randomized controlled trial

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Public Health

VOLUME=12

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2024.1451101

DOI=10.3389/fpubh.2024.1451101

ISSN=2296-2565

ABSTRACT=<sec id="sec1"><title>Purpose</title><p>Aimed to assess the impact of wearable device-based aerobic exercise on the physical and mental well-being of women with breast cancer (BC) undergoing chemotherapy.</p></sec><sec id="sec2"><title>Methods</title><p>Forty adult women with BC who underwent anthracycline-based chemotherapy were randomly allocated to the exercise group (<italic>n</italic> = 21) or the control group (<italic>n</italic> = 19). Both groups received standard health education and oncology care. In addition, the exercise group wore wearable devices to engage in moderate to high-intensity (50–90% HRmax) aerobic exercise during chemotherapy, while the control group did not carry out exercise intervention. Health-related physical fitness level, physical activity energy expenditure (PAEE), anxiety and depression scores, sleep quality, cancer-related fatigue, and overall quality of life (QoL), were assessed both before (prior to the first chemotherapy session) and after (prior to the fifth chemotherapy session) the exercise intervention. Exercise-related adverse events, exercise compliance, number and severity of gastrointestinal reactions and myelosuppression occurred were recorded during the exercise intervention.</p></sec><sec id="sec3"><title>Results</title><p>After the intervention, compared to the control group, the exercise group (1) had significantly higher relative VO<sub>2</sub>peak (<italic>p</italic> = 0.003) and handgrip strength (<italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.001); (2) had significantly higher PAEE (<italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.001); (3) had a significantly lower scores in anxiety (<italic>p</italic> = 0.007), depression (<italic>p</italic> = 0.028), sleep quality in domains of subjective sleep quality (<italic>p</italic> = 0.010), sleep disturbances (<italic>p</italic> = 0.004), daytime dysfunction (<italic>p</italic> = 0.007), cancer-related fatigue in domains of physical (<italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.001) and affective (<italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.001); and (4) had a significantly lower scores in QoL in domains of physical well-being (<italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.001) and emotional well-being (<italic>p</italic> = 0.019), while a significantly higher scores in functional well-being (<italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.001). Patients in the exercise group experienced less severe gastrointestinal reactions (<italic>p</italic> = 0.028) and myelosuppressive symptoms (<italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.001) than that in the control group. Patients in the exercise group had no serious exercise-related adverse events, with a mean exercise adherence of 81.8%.</p></sec><sec id="sec4"><title>Conclusion</title><p>Wearable device-based aerobic exercise during chemotherapy can be an effective adjunctive therapy to improve physical and mental health in BC patients.</p></sec><sec id="sec5"><title>Clinical trial registration</title><p><ext-link xlink:href="https://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.html?proj=200247" ext-link-type="uri" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">https://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.html?proj=200247</ext-link>, Identifier: ChiCTR2300073667.</p></sec>