Hartman, S.J., Nelson, S.H., Myers, E., Natarajan, L., Sears, D.D., Palmer, B.W., . . . Patterson, R.E. (2018). Randomized controlled trial of increasing physical activity on objectively measured and self-reported cognitive functioning among breast cancer survivors: The memory and motion study. Cancer, 124, 192–202.
Examine the preliminary efficacy of a moderate-intensity aerobic exercise intervention, compared with a waitlist/attention control, on cognitive function among sedentary breast cancer survivors who reported cognitive problems.
The intervention included two groups: aerobic physical activity (targeting a goal of at least 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity over 12 weeks) versus waitlist/attention control (i.e., matching email contact frequency for intervention group with women’s health topics).
Participants randomly assigned to the aerobic physical activity group completed an in-person walking assessment, after which study staff used motivational interviewing to set physical activity targets to reach the target goal for the study. Participants were given a Fitbit, which was used by staff to provide feedback on increasing physical activity during calls at two and six weeks. Motivational emails were sent every three days.
Participants assigned to the control group received women’s health topic emails every three days.
Study assessments were done before and at the end of the intervention (i.e., approximately 12 weeks post-baseline).
PHASE OF CARE: Late effects and survivorship
Unblinded randomized controlled trial of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity versus waitlist/attention control with repeated measures
This pilot study provides evidence that moderate-to-vigorous physical activity shows preliminary efficacy to improve a specific domain of objectively-measured cognitive function, processing speed.
This study provides preliminary evidence that moderate-to-vigorous aerobic physical activity might improve the speed of doing mental tasks (i.e., processing speed), which is found to be impaired among some breast cancer survivors. The findings support future well-powered studies using aerobic physical activity to improve processing speed.