Author(s): ADRIANA, M., ESTEVES, D., MADEIRA, R., TORRES, A., FIALHO, R., ANTUNES, A., ANJOS, L., SOMA, A., FERREIRA, T., NEIVA, H., Institution: UNIVERSITY OF BEIRA INTERIOR, Country: PORTUGAL, Abstract-ID: 1714

INTRODUCTION:
Breast cancer is one of the most prevalent cancers worldwide, with high survival rates. Consequently, survivors frequently experience challenges related to quality of life, including symptoms of anxiety and depression, which may be associated with physical fitness and body composition. This study aimed to analyze the association between physical fitness variables, body composition and psychological symptoms in breast cancer survivors.
METHODS:
A cross-sectional study was conducted with 38 women with a diagnosis of breast cancer (57.39 ± 7.94 years). Anxiety and depressive symptoms were assessed using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 GAD-7 (6.37 ± 4.36) and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9-PHQ-9 (4.71 ± 4.30), respectively. Physical variables included body mass index-BMI (26.35 ± 4.53), handgrip strength (left 25.92 ± 5.00; right 26.85 ± 4.93), sit-to-stand test (20.56 ± 6.23) and medicine ball throw (2.46 ± 0.55). Associations were analyzed using Spearman correlations.
RESULTS:
A moderate positive association was observed between BMI and depressive symptoms (ρ = 0.36; p = 0.025), which remained significant after controlling for age (ρ = 0.40; p = 0.015). A trend towards a negative association between handgrip strength and anxiety symptoms was identified (ρ = −0.28; p = 0.088).
CONCLUSION:
Body composition appears to be more strongly associated with depressive symptoms than physical fitness indicators in this sample. These findings highlight the importance of considering body composition alongside psychological characteristics when designing clinical exercise interventions for breast cancer survivors, while reinforcing the need for further research with larger samples to clarify the role of physical fitness in mental health outcomes.