Associations of leisure time physical activity volume, frequency, and intensity with all-cause mortality among cancer survivors.

Authors

Yanxue Lian, Pincheng Luo, Linyi Zheng, Sha Li

Published in

Clinics (Sao Paulo, Brazil). Volume 81. Pages 101113. Sep 08, 2026. Epub Sep 08, 2026.

Abstract

To investigate whether the survival benefits of Leisure-Time Physical Activity (LTPA) among cancer survivors depend on total weekly volume, frequency of sessions, or proportion of vigorous-intensity activity.
We analysed data from 3362 cancer survivors aged ≥ 20-years in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2007-2018, linked to mortality data through December 2019. LTPA was self-reported via the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire and categorized as inactive (< 150 min/week) or active (≥ 150 min/week). The active group was further stratified by session frequency (1‒2, 3‒4, ≥ 5 week) and vigorous-intensity proportion, defined as doubled vigorous minutes divided by total equivalent LTPA minutes (< 50%, ≥ 50%). Weighted Cox proportional hazards models estimated Hazard Ratios (HRs) for all-cause mortality, adjusting for sociodemographic, lifestyle, and clinical covariates.
Over a mean follow-up of 6.0-years, 856 deaths occurred. Meeting activity guidelines was associated with a 45% lower risk of all-cause mortality (HR = 0.55; 95% CI 0.43‒0.71). Among active participants, exploratory analyses suggested similar inverse associations across activity frequency categories and proportions of vigorous-intensity activity. Associations did not differ by age, sex, or marital status.
Adherence to physical activity guidelines was associated with lower all-cause mortality among cancer survivors. Exploratory findings suggest that survival benefits may be achieved through a range of activity frequency and intensity patterns, supporting flexible approaches to physical activity promotion in survivorship care.

PMID:
42715904
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 17 Oct 2026.

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