Seasonal Variation in Physical Activity among Preoperative Patients with Lung Cancer Determined Using a Wearable Device

We aim to examine how season and temperature levels affect physical activity using a wearable device among patients scheduled to undergo surgical resection of lung cancer. Physical activity (PA) data from the wearable device were analyzed by seasons for 555 preoperative lung cancer patients from the CATCH-LUNG cohort study. The seasons were divided into spring, summer, autumn, and winter using the study enrollment date before surgery. The overall mean (SD) age was 61.1 (8.9) years, and the mean (SD) daily steps at each season were 11,438 (5922), 11,147 (5065), 10,404 (4403), and 8548 (4293), respectively. In the fully-adjusted models, patients in the winter season had 27.04% fewer daily steps (95% CI = −36.68%, −15.93%) and 35.22% less time spent performing moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) compared to patients in the spring. The proportion of participants with over 8000 steps and duration of MVPA were significantly lower in the winter than the spring. In particular, daily steps had a negative linear association with wind chill temperature in patients who lived in Seoul. In conclusion, PA was significantly lower in the winter and it was more robust in patients who had a low cardiorespiratory function.