Combined healthy lifestyle factors and psychosocial outcomes among cancer survivors: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Authors:
Open Access
Publisher website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Purpose: This systematic review aims to summarize the associations between combined healthy lifestyles and psychosocial outcomes (health-related quality of life (HRQOL), depression, anxiety, psychological distress (PD), and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)) among cancer survivors. Methods: PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and EMBASE were searched for observational and interventional studies examining healthy lifestyle scores (HLS, calculated by a combination of at least three lifestyles) and psychosocial outcomes among cancer survivors from inception to April 2024. A minimum of two studies with the same study design were pooled using random effects models. Results: Twenty-one studies (44,812 survivors) were included. Of all studies, 16 of which were included in meta-analysis. The pooling of cross-sectional evidence shows significant association between HLS and overall, physical, and psychosocial HRQOL. Significance was only observed for overall and physical HRQOL but not for psychosocial HRQOL in cohort studies. The estimations and 95% confidence interval (CI) with 1-point increase in HLS were 1.47 (0.83–2.12) and 1.42 (0.19–2.65) for overall and physical HRQOL, respectively. The evidence from interventional studies also indicated that interventions on multiple lifestyles have positive effects on the physical but not psychosocial HRQOL. Despite the limited number of studies, significant associations were found between HLS and depression, anxiety, PD, and PTSD. Conclusions: Although evidence is limited, we found that the combination of multiple healthier lifestyles is associated with better psychosocial outcomes in cancer survivors. Implications for cancer survivors: This review underscores the potential for adhering to multiple healthy lifestyles to improve psychosocial outcomes and enhance HRQOL for cancer survivors.
Funding Information
  • Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum (DKFZ)

This publication has 58 references indexed in Scilit: