Assessing activity limitation among cancer survivors in Korea using data from a nationwide survey

More than 1 million cancer survivors reside in Korea. We here investigated activity limitations of cancer survivors compared to controls without a history of cancer.

Using the 4th and 5th Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2007-2012) data, we identified 1,155 adult cancer survivors. Activity limitations were defined as limitation in activities of daily living, experience of lying in a sickbed, and number of days lying in a sickbed during the last month. Descriptive analysis and multiple logistic regression compared these measures for survivors and controls by sex and age groups.

Approximately 29.4% of cancer survivors reported limitation in activities of daily living, 14.6% experienced lying in a sickbed, and 4.3% experienced more than 15 days lying in a sickbed during the last month. After controlling for demographic and health-related factors, cancer survivors were more likely to report activity limitation than controls. The associations were similar across sex and age groups.

Cancer survivors have increased activity limitation compared to controls and these limitations persist across sex and age. Targeted interventions and improved management are essential for improving cancer survivor daily life.