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Observational Study
. 2014 Feb;46(2):122-35.
doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2013.10.021.

Sedentary behavior and mortality in older women: the Women's Health Initiative

Rebecca Seguin  1 , David M Buchner  2 , Jingmin Liu  3 , Matthew Allison  4 , Todd Manini  5 , Ching-Yun Wang  3 , Joann E Manson  6 , Catherine R Messina  7 , Mahesh J Patel  8 , Larry Moreland  9 , Marcia L Stefanick  10 , Andrea Z Lacroix  3
Affiliations
Observational Study

Sedentary behavior and mortality in older women: the Women's Health Initiative

Rebecca Seguin et al. Am J Prev Med. 2014 Feb.

Abstract

Background: Although epidemiologic studies have shown associations between sedentary behavior and mortality, few have focused on older women with adequate minority representation and few have controlled for both physical activity and functional status.

Purpose: The objective of this study was to determine the relationship between sedentary time and total; cardiovascular disease (CVD); coronary heart disease (CHD); and cancer mortality in a prospective, multiethnic cohort of postmenopausal women.

Methods: The study population included 92,234 women aged 50-79 years at baseline (1993-1998) who participated in the Women's Health Initiative Observational Study through September 2010. Self-reported sedentary time was assessed by questionnaire and examined in 4 categories (≤4, >4-8, ≥8-11, >11 hours). Mortality risks were examined using Cox proportional hazard models adjusting for confounders. Models were also stratified by age, race/ethnicity, body mass index, physical activity, physical function, and chronic disease to examine possible effect modification. Analyses were conducted in 2012-2013.

Results: The mean follow-up period was 12 years. Compared with women who reported the least sedentary time, women reporting the highest sedentary time had increased risk of all-cause mortality in the multivariate model (HR=1.12, 95% CI=1.05, 1.21). Results comparing the highest versus lowest categories for CVD, CHD, and cancer mortality were as follows: HR=1.13, 95% CI=0.99, 1.29; HR=1.27, 95% CI=1.04, 1.55; and HR=1.21, 95% CI=1.07, 1.37, respectively. For all mortality outcomes, there were significant linear tests for trend.

Conclusions: There was a linear relationship between greater amounts of sedentary time and mortality risk after controlling for multiple potential confounders.

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Conflict of interest statement

No conflicts of interest were reported by the authors of this paper.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Unadjusted Kaplan–Meier survival curves for all-cause; cardiovascular disease (CVD); coronary heart disease (CHD); and cancer mortality by sedentary time
Figure 2
Figure 2
Age-adjusted death rates per 1000 person-years according to category of sedentary time, stratified by level of physical activity (A) and physical function (B). p-values indicate effect modification of relationship between sedentary time and mortality risk by (A) METs of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and (B) SF-36 physical function score
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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