Lower social participation and physical activity in patients with craniopharyngioma or CNS germ cell tumor: Their association with apathy
Misa Komaki, Yoshiki Arakawa, Keita Ueda, Katsutsugu Umeda, Tsukasa Ueno, Masahiro Tanji, Yohei Mineharu, Takeshi Funaki, Takayuki Kikuchi, Toshiya Murai, Ami TabataAbstract
Aim
This study aimed to compare social participation and physical activity in patients with craniopharyngioma or central nervous system germ cell tumor (CNS germ cell tumor) with those of healthy participants and examine their associations with social behavioral disorders.
Methods
We recruited adult patients with either childhood‐ or adult‐onset conditions who received treatment at the Kyoto University Hospital and healthy participants. Social participation and physical activity were assessed using the Community Integration Questionnaire (CIQ) and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire‐Short Form (IPAQ‐SF). Social behavioral disorders, including apathy, were evaluated using the Frontal Systems Behavior Scale (FrSBe). Data were analyzed using the Mann–Whitney U test and Spearman's rank correlation.
Results
A total of 20 patients (mean age 35.15 ± 14.00 years), comprising 14 with craniopharyngioma and 6 with CNS germ cell tumor, along with 25 healthy participants (mean age 35.52 ± 15.28 years), were recruited. The patients' total scores (CIQ) and total physical activity (IPAQ‐SF) were significantly lower than those of healthy participants ( p < 0.001 and p = 0.021, respectively). Significant negative correlations were found between patients' productivity (CIQ) and total scores (FrSBe), and between productivity and apathy (FrSBe) ( ρ = −0.449, p = 0.047 and ρ = −0.572, p = 0.008, respectively).
Conclusion
Patients with craniopharyngioma or CNS germ cell tumor had lower levels of social participation and physical activity than healthy participants, and greater apathy was linked to reduced productivity. These findings suggest that joint activity planning and encouragement from caregivers may promote social participation in patients with apathy.