• Michael J Stein, Hansjörg Baurecht, Patricia Bohmann, Béatrice Fervers, Emma Fontvieille, Heinz Freisling, Christine M Friedenreich, Julian Konzok, Laia Peruchet-Noray, Anja M Sedlmeier, Michael F Leitzmann, and Andrea Weber.
• Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, University of Regensburg, Franz-Josef-Strauß-Allee 11, Regensburg, 93053, Germany. michael.stein@ukr.de.
• Bmc Med. 2024 Sep 18; 22 (1): 399399.

BackgroundPhysical activity reduces colorectal cancer risk, yet the diurnal timing of physical activity in colorectal cancer etiology remains unclear.MethodsThis study used 24-h accelerometry time series from UK Biobank participants aged 42 to 79 years to derive circadian physical activity patterns using functional principal component analysis. Multivariable Cox proportional hazard models were used to examine associations with colorectal cancer risk.ResultsAmong 86,252 participants (56% women), 529 colorectal cancer cases occurred during a median 5.3-year follow-up. We identified four physical activity patterns that explained almost 100% of the data variability during the day. A pattern of continuous day-long activity was inversely associated with colorectal cancer risk (hazard ratio (HR) = 0.94, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.89-0.99). A second pattern of late-day activity was suggestively inversely related to risk (HR = 0.93, 95% CI = 0.85-1.02). A third pattern of early- plus late-day activity was associated with decreased risk (HR = 0.89, 95% CI = 0.80-0.99). A fourth pattern of mid-day plus night-time activity showed no relation (HR = 1.02, 95% CI = 0.88-1.19). Our results were consistent across various sensitivity analyses, including the restriction to never smokers, the exclusion of the first 2 years of follow-up, and the adjustment for shift work.ConclusionsA pattern of early- plus late-day activity is related to reduced colorectal cancer risk, beyond the benefits of overall activity. Further research is needed to confirm the role of activity timing in colorectal cancer prevention.© 2024. The Author(s).

24 keywords...

hide…