Exploring moderators of the effect of high vs. low-to-moderate Intensity exercise on cardiorespiratory fitness during breast cancer treatment – Analyses of a subsample from the phys-can RCT

Introduction The results from the physical training and cancer randomized controlled trial (Phys-Can RCT) indicate that high intensity (HI) strength and endurance training during (neo-)adjuvant cancer treatment is more beneficial for cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF, measured as peak oxygen uptake [VO2peak]) than low-to-moderate intensity (LMI) exercise. Adherence to the exercise intervention and demographic or clinical characteristics of patients with breast cancer undergoing adjuvant treatment may moderate the exercise intervention effect on VO2peak. In this study, the objective was to investigate whether baseline values of VO2peak, body mass index (BMI), time spent in moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity (MVPA), physical fatigue, age, chemotherapy treatment, and the adherence to the endurance training moderated the effect of HI vs. LMI exercise on VO2peak. Materials and Methods We used data collected from a subsample from the Phys-Can RCT; women who were diagnosed with breast cancer and had a valid baseline and post-intervention VO2peak test were included (n = 255). The exercise interventions from the RCT included strength and endurance training at either LMI, which was continuous endurance training at 40 – 50 % of heart rate reserve (HRR), or at HI, which was interval training at 80–90% of HRR, with similar exercise volume in the two groups. Linear regression analyses were used to investigate moderating effects using a significance level of p \u3c 0.10. Statistically significant interactions were examined further using the Johnson–Neyman (J-N) technique and regions of significance (for continuous variables) or box plots with adjusted means of post-intervention VO2peak (for binary variables). Results Age, as a continuous variable, and adherence, dichotomized into \u3c or \u3e 58% based on median, moderated the effect of HI vs. LMI on CRF (B = −0.08, 95% CI [−0.16, 0.01], pinteraction = 0.06, and B = 1.63, 95% CI [−0.12, 3.38], pinteraction = 0.07, respectively). The J-N technique and regions of significance indicated that the intervention effect (HI vs. LMI) was positive and statistically significant in participants aged 61 years or older. Baseline measurement of CRF, MVPA, BMI, physical fatigue, and chemotherapy treatment did not significantly moderate the intervention effect on CRF. Conclusion Women with breast cancer who are older and who have higher adherence to the exercise regimen may have larger effects of HI exercise during (neo-)adjuvant cancer treatment on CRF

The Role of Long-Term Physical Activity in Relation to Cancer-Related Health Outcomes: A 12-Month Follow-up of the Phys-Can RCT

Purpose: While moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity (MVPA) is associated with various health improvements shortly after completion of exercise interventions, it remains unclear which health benefits can be expected when MVPA levels are maintained in the long term in cancer survivors. We aimed to assess the associations of (1) MVPA level at 12-month follow-up and (2) long-term MVPA patterns (from immediately post-intervention to 12-month follow-up) with different cancer-related health outcomes. Methods: In the Physical training and Cancer (Phys-Can) RCT, 577 participants diagnosed with breast (78%), prostate (19%), or colorectal (3%) cancer were randomized to 6 months of exercise during curative cancer treatment. Accelerometer-assessed physical activity and outcome data (ie, cancer-related fatigue, health-related quality of life [HRQoL], anxiety and depression, functioning in daily life, cardiorespiratory fitness, sedentary time and sleep) were collected immediately post-intervention and at 12-month follow-up. Based on the sample’s median of MVPA immediately post-intervention (65 minutes/day) and the changes between the 2 measurement points, 4 categories with different long-term MVPA patterns were created: High & Increasing, High & Decreasing, Low & Increasing, and Low & Decreasing. Multiple linear regression analyses were performed for the analyses. Results: A total of 353 participants were included in the analyses. At 12-month follow-up, a higher MVPA level was significantly associated with lower fatigue in 3 domains (general fatigue [β = −.33], physical fatigue [β = −.53] and reduced activity [β = −.37]), higher cardiorespiratory fitness (β = .34) and less sedentary time (β = −.35). For long-term MVPA patterns, compared to the participants in the “Low & Decreasing” category, those in the “High & Increasing” category reported significantly lower fatigue in 3 domains (general fatigue [β = −1.77], physical fatigue [β = −3.36] and reduced activity [β = −1.58]), higher HRQoL (β = 6.84) and had less sedentary time (β = −1.23). Conclusion: Our results suggest that long-term physical activity is essential for improving health outcomes post-intervention in cancer survivors. Cancer survivors, including those who reach recommended MVPA levels, should be encouraged to maintain or increase MVPA post-intervention for additional health benefits.publishedVersio

Dropout from exercise trials among cancer survivors—An individual patient data meta-analysis from the POLARIS study

Introduction: The number of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) investigating the effects of exercise among cancer survivors has increased in recent years; however, participants dropping out of the trials are rarely described. The objective of the present study was to assess which combinations of participant and exercise program characteristics were associated with dropout from the exercise arms of RCTs among cancer survivors. Methods: This study used data collected in the Predicting OptimaL cAncer RehabIlitation and Supportive care (POLARIS) study, an international database of RCTs investigating the effects of exercise among cancer survivors. Thirty-four exercise trials, with a total of 2467 patients without metastatic disease randomized to an exercise arm were included. Harmonized studies included a pre and a posttest, and participants were classified as dropouts when missing all assessments at the post-intervention test. Subgroups were identified with a conditional inference tree. Results: Overall, 9.6% of the participants dropped out. Five subgroups were identified in the conditional inference tree based on four significant associations with dropout. Most dropout was observed for participants with BMI &gt;28.4 kg/m2, performing supervised resistance or unsupervised mixed exercise (19.8% dropout) or had low-medium education and performed aerobic or supervised mixed exercise (13.5%). The lowest dropout was found for participants with BMI &gt;28.4 kg/m2 and high education performing aerobic or supervised mixed exercise (5.1%), and participants with BMI ≤28.4 kg/m2 exercising during (5.2%) or post (9.5%) treatment. Conclusions: There are several systematic differences between cancer survivors completing and dropping out from exercise trials, possibly affecting the external validity of exercise effects.</p

Design of a randomized controlled trial of physical training and cancer (Phys-Can) – the impact of exercise intensity on cancer related fatigue, quality of life and disease outcome

Background: Cancer-related fatigue is a common problem in persons with cancer, influencing health-related quality of life and causing a considerable challenge to society. Current evidence supports the beneficial effects of physical exercise in reducing fatigue, but the results across studies are not consistent, especially in terms of exercise intensity. It is also unclear whether use of behaviour change techniques can further increase exercise adherence and maintain physical activity behaviour. This study will investigate whether exercise intensity affects fatigue and health related quality of life in persons undergoing adjuvant cancer treatment. In addition, to examine effects of exercise intensity on mood disturbance, adherence to oncological treatment, adverse effects from treatment, activities of daily living after treatment completion and return to work, and behaviour change techniques effect on exercise adherence. We will also investigate whether exercise intensity influences inflammatory markers and cytokines, and whether gene expressions following training serve as mediators for the effects of exercise on fatigue and health related quality of life. Methods/design: Six hundred newly diagnosed persons with breast, colorectal or prostate cancer undergoing adjuvant therapy will be randomized in a 2 × 2 factorial design to following conditions; A) individually tailored low-to-moderate intensity exercise with or without behaviour change techniques or B) individually tailored high intensity exercise with or without behaviour change techniques. The training consists of both resistance and endurance exercise sessions under the guidance of trained coaches. The primary outcomes, fatigue and health related quality of life, are measured by self-reports. Secondary outcomes include fitness, mood disturbance, adherence to the cancer treatment, adverse effects, return to activities of daily living after completed treatment, return to work as well as inflammatory markers, cytokines and gene expression. Discussion: The study will contribute to our understanding of the value of exercise and exercise intensity in reducing fatigue and improving health related quality of life and, potentially, clinical outcomes. The value of behaviour change techniques in terms of adherence to and maintenance of physical exercise behaviour in persons with cancer will be evaluated

Behaviours, Beliefs and Back Pain : Prognostic Factors for Disability in the General Population and Implementation of Screening in Primary Care Physiotherapy

Aim: The overall aim of this thesis was to study prognostic factors for prolonged disability in back pain in the general population and physiotherapists’ screening for prolonged disability, applying a social cognitive learning perspective. Methods and results: Studies I and II were based on a survey in the general population in Sweden. Study I included 1024 individuals aged 20-50 years, reporting non-specific back pain. Four groups (n = 100, 215, 172 and 537) based on duration and recurrence of back pain were formed and compared. After controlling for pain intensity, catastrophising and expectations of future pain were positively correlated to pain duration. Perceived social support was negatively correlated to pain duration. Study II was longitudinal over 12 months and analysed one group reporting first-episode back pain (n = 77), and one group reporting long-term back pain (n = 302). Future pain intensity and disability were predicted by initial levels of pain and disability and pain-related cognitions in both groups. Study III examined the inter-rater reliability of a research protocol for assessment of physiotherapists’ telephone screening for prolonged disability. The results demonstrated sufficient inter-rater reliability. Study IV evaluated the effect of a tailored skills training intervention on physiotherapists’ screening for prolonged disability in back pain. Four physiotherapists in primary care participated in four quasi-experimental single-subject studies. Effects were seen in all participants, with increased screening of prognostic factors and less time spent on detailed discussions about back pain. Conclusions: The identification of mainly cognitive explanatory variables indicates the relevance of a social cognitive perspective of back pain-related disability (studies I and II). Physiotherapists’ telephone screening for prolonged disability in back can be reliably assessed (study III). It is suggested that interventions based on social cognitive theory are effective in producing change in specified clinical behaviours in physiotherapists (study IV)

Behaviours, Beliefs and Back Pain : Prognostic Factors for Disability in the General Population and Implementation of Screening in Primary Care Physiotherapy

Aim: The overall aim of this thesis was to study prognostic factors for prolonged disability in back pain in the general population and physiotherapists’ screening for prolonged disability, applying a social cognitive learning perspective. Methods and results: Studies I and II were based on a survey in the general population in Sweden. Study I included 1024 individuals aged 20-50 years, reporting non-specific back pain. Four groups (n = 100, 215, 172 and 537) based on duration and recurrence of back pain were formed and compared. After controlling for pain intensity, catastrophising and expectations of future pain were positively correlated to pain duration. Perceived social support was negatively correlated to pain duration. Study II was longitudinal over 12 months and analysed one group reporting first-episode back pain (n = 77), and one group reporting long-term back pain (n = 302). Future pain intensity and disability were predicted by initial levels of pain and disability and pain-related cognitions in both groups. Study III examined the inter-rater reliability of a research protocol for assessment of physiotherapists’ telephone screening for prolonged disability. The results demonstrated sufficient inter-rater reliability. Study IV evaluated the effect of a tailored skills training intervention on physiotherapists’ screening for prolonged disability in back pain. Four physiotherapists in primary care participated in four quasi-experimental single-subject studies. Effects were seen in all participants, with increased screening of prognostic factors and less time spent on detailed discussions about back pain. Conclusions: The identification of mainly cognitive explanatory variables indicates the relevance of a social cognitive perspective of back pain-related disability (studies I and II). Physiotherapists’ telephone screening for prolonged disability in back can be reliably assessed (study III). It is suggested that interventions based on social cognitive theory are effective in producing change in specified clinical behaviours in physiotherapists (study IV)

Behaviours, Beliefs and Back Pain : Prognostic Factors for Disability in the General Population and Implementation of Screening in Primary Care Physiotherapy

Aim: The overall aim of this thesis was to study prognostic factors for prolonged disability in back pain in the general population and physiotherapists’ screening for prolonged disability, applying a social cognitive learning perspective. Methods and results: Studies I and II were based on a survey in the general population in Sweden. Study I included 1024 individuals aged 20-50 years, reporting non-specific back pain. Four groups (n = 100, 215, 172 and 537) based on duration and recurrence of back pain were formed and compared. After controlling for pain intensity, catastrophising and expectations of future pain were positively correlated to pain duration. Perceived social support was negatively correlated to pain duration. Study II was longitudinal over 12 months and analysed one group reporting first-episode back pain (n = 77), and one group reporting long-term back pain (n = 302). Future pain intensity and disability were predicted by initial levels of pain and disability and pain-related cognitions in both groups. Study III examined the inter-rater reliability of a research protocol for assessment of physiotherapists’ telephone screening for prolonged disability. The results demonstrated sufficient inter-rater reliability. Study IV evaluated the effect of a tailored skills training intervention on physiotherapists’ screening for prolonged disability in back pain. Four physiotherapists in primary care participated in four quasi-experimental single-subject studies. Effects were seen in all participants, with increased screening of prognostic factors and less time spent on detailed discussions about back pain. Conclusions: The identification of mainly cognitive explanatory variables indicates the relevance of a social cognitive perspective of back pain-related disability (studies I and II). Physiotherapists’ telephone screening for prolonged disability in back can be reliably assessed (study III). It is suggested that interventions based on social cognitive theory are effective in producing change in specified clinical behaviours in physiotherapists (study IV)

Arbetsmiljö och hälsa i organisationer vid epidemier och pandemier orsakade av coronavirus

Kunskapen om effekter av spridningen av coronaviruset sars-cov-2 i Sverige utifrån ett arbetsmiljöperspektiv är, av naturliga skäl, begränsad. Det finns dock internationell forskning från tidigare sjukdomsutbrott orsakade av andra coronavirus, vilken kan appliceras på svenska förhållanden och användas som underlag i en kunskapssammanställning. I denna kunskapssammanställning sammanfattas kunskapsläget avseende hur arbetsmiljö, arbetsmiljöarbete och hälsa påverkas vid epidemier och pandemier orsakade av coronavirus. Kunskapssammanställningen ger också en bild av den publicerade forskningen avseende framför allt de första månaderna av covid-19-pandemin

The Work Environment during Coronavirus Epidemics and Pandemics : A Systematic Review of Studies Using Quantitative, Qualitative, and Mixed-Methods Designs

We aimed to provide an overview of how work environment and occupational health are affected, and describe interventions designed to improve the work environment during epidemics and pandemics. The guidelines on Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) were followed. The databases Cinahl, Medline, PsycInfo, and Web of Science were searched for population: working population; exposure: coronavirus epidemic or pandemic; and outcome: work environment, in articles published until October 2020. Quality assessment was based on a modified version of the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT). After deduplication 3711 articles remained, of which 530 were selected for full-text screening and 119 for quality assessment. After the exclusion of studies that were low quality, 95 remained, of which 85 focused on healthcare personnel and 10 on employees in other industries; 73 used quantitative methods and 22 used qualitative or mixed methods; the majority were based on cross-sectional data. Healthcare staff experienced increased job demands, poor leadership, and lack of resources (personal protective equipment, personnel, and competence). High demands and work with infected patients were associated with negative mental health outcomes. There was a lack of studies assessing interventions, studies from industries other than healthcare, and studies of high quality

Arbetsmiljö och hälsa i organisationer vid epidemier och pandemier orsakade av coronavirus

Kunskapen om effekter av spridningen av coronaviruset sars-cov-2 i Sverige utifrån ett arbetsmiljöperspektiv är, av naturliga skäl, begränsad. Det finns dock internationell forskning från tidigare sjukdomsutbrott orsakade av andra coronavirus, vilken kan appliceras på svenska förhållanden och användas som underlag i en kunskapssammanställning. I denna kunskapssammanställning sammanfattas kunskapsläget avseende hur arbetsmiljö, arbetsmiljöarbete och hälsa påverkas vid epidemier och pandemier orsakade av coronavirus. Kunskapssammanställningen ger också en bild av den publicerade forskningen avseende framför allt de första månaderna av covid-19-pandemin