Authors
David Dunstan
Elizabeth Barr
Genevieve Healy
Jo Salmon
Jonathan Shaw
Beverley Balkau
Dianna Magliano
Adrian Cameron
Paul Zimmet
Neville Owen
Publication Date
2010
Publication Details
Dunstan, D., Barr, E., Healy, G., Salmon, J., Shaw, J., Balkau, B., Magliano, D., Cameron, A., Zimmet, P. & Owen, N. (2010). Television viewing time and mortality : The Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle Study (AusDiab). Circulation,121(3), 384-391. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.109.894824
Abstract
Background: Television viewing time, the predominant leisure-time sedentary behavior, is associated with biomarkers of cardiometabolic risk, but its relationship with mortality has not been studied. We examined the associations of prolonged television viewing time with all-cause, cardiovascular disease (CVD), cancer, and non-CVD/noncancer mortality in Australian adults. Methods and results: Television viewing time in relation to subsequent all-cause, CVD, and cancer mortality (median follow-up, 6.6 years) was examined among 8800 adults ≥25 years of age in the Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle Study (AusDiab). During 58 087 person-years of follow-up, there were 284 deaths (87 CVD deaths, 125 cancer deaths). After adjustment for age, sex, waist circumference, and exercise, the hazard ratios for each 1-hour increment in television viewing time per day were 1.11 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.03 to 1.20) for all-cause mortality, 1.18 (95% CI, 1.03 to 1.35) for CVD mortality, and 1.09 (95% CI, 0.96 to 1.23) for cancer mortality. Compared with a television viewing time of < 2 h/d, the fully adjusted hazard ratios for all-cause mortality were 1.13 (95% CI, 0.87 to 1.36) for ≥2 to < 4 h/d and 1.46 (95% CI, 1.04 to 2.05) for ≥4 h/d. For CVD mortality, corresponding hazard ratios were 1.19 (95% CI, 0.72 to 1.99) and 1.80 (95% CI, 1.00 to 3.25). The associations with both cancer mortality and non-CVD/noncancer mortality were not significant. Conclusions: Television viewing time was associated with increased risk of all-cause and CVD mortality. In addition to the promotion of exercise, chronic disease prevention strategies could focus on reducing sitting time, particularly prolonged television viewing.
School/Institute
Mary MacKillop Institute for Health Research
Document Type
Open Access Journal Article
Access Rights
Open Access