Domain-specific physical activity and the risk of colorectal cancer: results from the Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study

BACKGROUND: Physical activity reduces the risk of colorectal cancer (CRC), but the relevant evidence derives primarily from self-reported recreational and occupational activity. Less is known about the contribution of other domains of physical activity, such as transport and household. We examined associations between domain-specific physical activities and CRC risk within the Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study. METHODS: Analyses included 23,586 participants who were free from invasive colorectal cancer and had completed the International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Long Form at follow-up 2 (2003–2007). Cox regression, with age as the time metric, was used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for ordinal categories of each physical activity domain. RESULTS: Adjusted HRs for the highest versus the lowest categories of physical activity were 0.71 (95% CI: 0.51–0.98; p(trend) = 0.03) for recreational activity; 0.80 (95% CI: 0.49–1.28; p(trend) = 0.38) for occupational activity; 0.90 (95% CI: 0.68–1.19; p(trend) = 0.20) for transport activity; and 1.07 (95% CI: 0.82–1.40; p(trend) = 0.46) for household activity. CONCLUSIONS: Recreational activity was associated with reduced CRC risk. A non-significant, inverse association was observed for occupational activity, whereas no association was found for transport or household domains. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s12885-018-4961-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.