The Effect of a Home-Based Exercise Program on Sleep Disturbance and Related Symptoms in Breast Cancer

This prospective randomized controlled study is to test the effect of a moderate intensity homebased exercise program on sleep disturbance and related symptoms in women with breast cancer receiving adjuvant chemotherapy. The mode of the exercise is brisk walk with intensity set at 40-70% of heart rate reserve. The exercise program is 3-5 sessions per week, 30-40 minutes per session, for 12 weeks. Eligible participants will be randomly assigned to either the exercise group or the usual-care control group. The main outcome variables are subjective sleep quality, objective sleep-wake parameters, severity in symptoms related to sleep disturbance (i.e., pain, fatigue, and depression), and quality of life. Secondary outcome variables include body mass index, body composition, and blood cell count. Not only the immediate effect of the exercise will be tested at the end of the 12-week exercise training, the maintenance effects will be evaluated for up to 9 months. Adherence to the study intervention will be monitored by assessing the actual activities performed using activity log. Strategies for enhancing adherence will be employed. Covariates that will be controlled through design or statistical approaches are age, functional capacity, disease stage, use of hypnotics, and chemotherapy protocol. Data will be analyzed using both intent-to-treat and on-treatment approaches.

Project ID:PC9801-2707
External Project ID:NSC97-2314-B182-035-MY3