Exercise participation, barriers, and preferences in Korean prostate cancer survivors

Objective: To identify patterns of physical activity (PA) participation, exercise preference, and barriers of stage 2–3 prostate cancer survivors across cancer trajectories based on selected demographic and medical variables. Design: The current study is a descriptive cross-sectional study which included data from a total of 111 prostate cancer survivors, at Shinchon Severance Hospital, Seoul, Korea. The survey includes PA levels before and after prostate cancer diagnosis, exercise barriers, and preferences. Results: Moderate- to vigorous-intensity PA levels were significantly lower after cancer diagnosis (vigorous PA:41.9 ± 123.1 min/week vs. 4.6 ± 29.8 min/week, p < 0.001; moderate PA: 159.9 ± 240.0 min/week vs. 56.8 ± 129.7 min/week, p <.001) compared to their PA level before cancer diagnosis. Perceived exercise barriers were distinctly different according to participants’ age and time since surgery. The two most prevalent exercise barriers among prostate cancer survivors <65 years were lack of time (28.6%) and poor health (26.5%), whereas the exercise barriers for prostate cancer survivors aged ≥65 years were lack of exercise facilities (21.4%) and lack of exercise information (17.9%). Furthermore, within 6 months after surgery, prostate cancer survivors perceived poor health (29.5%) and pain at the surgery site (29.5%) to be the two most prevalent exercise barriers. 6 months after surgery, prostate cancer survivors perceived lack of time (21.3%) and poor health (14.8%) to be the two most prevalent exercise barriers. Walking, pelvic floor and Kegel exercises were three most preferred exercises among prostate cancer survivors in our study, which uniquely differ according to time since surgery. Conclusion: This study showed significant reduction in PA levels among prostate cancer survivors and their perceived exercise barriers were distinct according to their age and time since surgery. Therefore, PA and exercise recommendation should be specific to their personal characteristics such as age and time since surgery.