Helping older people exercise through cancer treatment can help their quality of life

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2025-02-05 03:00

International

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Programs aimed at encouraging exercise for people over 60 with cancer are linked to improvements in mental health and quality of life, according to international researchers. The team analysed the results of 27 previous studies comparing exercise interventions for older people with cancer with regular care. The researchers say overall, patients who underwent exercise therapy were likely to have lower levels of depression and anxiety and a higher health-related quality of life, with exercises targeting the mind and body such as yoga and tai chi especially effective.

News release

From: JAMA

About The Study: In this systematic review and meta-analysis of 27 randomized clinical trials, exercise interventions were found to be associated with significantly reduced levels of depression and anxiety and significantly improved health-related quality-of-life in older adults with cancer. These findings suggest that health care professionals and policymakers should focus more on implementing exercise interventions to improve mental health outcomes in this vulnerable population.

Journal/
conference: JAMA Network Open

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: National University of Singapore, Singapore

Funder: None reported.

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