Effects of exercise-based interventions on health-related quality of life in adults after cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Background Due to the lack of available knowledge in the current literature, this systematic review and meta-analysis was aimed to assess the effectiveness of exercise-based lifestyle interventions, including healthy diet and/or psychological well-being on mental, physical and global health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in adults after cancer treatment. Methods MEDLINE (via PubMed) and Web of Science databases were searched for randomised controlled trials (RCTs) published until August 2024 evaluating exercise-based lifestyle interventions, including healthy diet and/or psychological well-being, which assessed mental, physical and global HRQoL. Results Of 6193 screened studies, 32 RCTs met the criteria. The total sample comprised 5528 participants (3003 intervention and 2525 control). There was a small effect size in a pooled analysis that found exercise-based lifestyle interventions improve mental HRQoL (d 0.11, 95 % CI 0.05 to 0.18). These effects were greater in those studies that combined exercise with psychological well-being (d = 0.19, P = 0.004), and with moderate-to-high intensity aerobic exercise (moderate intensity; d = 0.11, P = 0.02, high intensity; d = 0.16, P = 0.02, aerobic exercise; d = 0.16, P = 0.26). Conclusions Exercise-based lifestyle interventions do not enhance physical nor global HRQoL, yet those combined with psychological well-being seem to improve mental HRQoL in individuals after cancer treatment.