310952
TV viewing time is associated with higher Cancer Incidence
Objective: To investigate the association between TV viewing time as a marker of sedentary behavior and cancer incidence.
Methods: Prospective study of 64777 subjects (age at baseline 58 [SD ± 14] years) from the Adventist Health Study-2 in the contiguous U.S. Mean follow up time for all subjects was 3.8 [SD ± 1.5] years. After matching study subjects to participating State cancer registries, 2286 incident cancer cases were identified. Self-reported TV watching time was used as a marker of sedentary behavior and was stratified into three categories: ≤1 hour/day, 2 hours/day and ≥3 hours/day. Cox-proportional hazard regression analysis was performed to estimate hazard ratios (HR) with adjustments made for age, sex, race, educational level, close relatives with cancer history, self-perceived health status, cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption, dietary energy intake, total fiber intake, physical activity and BMI. In women additional adjustments were made for previous pregnancies, menopausal status, hormone replacement therapy and oral contraceptives. Subjects with reported cancers at baseline were excluded from the analysis. Sex stratified analysis was repeated for typical female and male cancers.
Results: Multivariate HR for all cancers was highest in those watching TV ≥3 hours/day (HR=1.24: 95%CI: 1.12-1.38) and intermediate for those watching TV 2 hours/day (HR=1.17: 95%CI: 1.06-1.30) when compared with subjects watching ≤1 hour/day. Similar results were seen with female cancers where HR was highest in those watching TV ≥3 hours/day (HR=1.23: 95%CI: 1.00-1.51) but remained below significance levels for those watching TV 2 hours/day. For male cancers the observed tendencies did not reach significance levels.
Conclusion: The findings suggest that watching TV for extended hours per day may pose an independent risk in developing cancer. Considering that TV viewing is a widespread sedentary habit in many modern societies, possible recommendations for a reduction of TV viewing time are of a public health concern and should be addressed.
Learning Areas:
Advocacy for health and health educationChronic disease management and prevention
Epidemiology
Public health biology
Public health or related research
Learning Objectives:
Discuss the association between TV viewing time as a marker of sedentary behavior and cancer incidence.
Keyword(s): Cancer, Physical Activity
Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have conducted and published research on physical activity and dietary pattern and their association with chronic diseases and obesity in large publicly funded cohort studies in the U.S. and Europe. My research includes the etiology of cardio-metabolic disease and the role of epigenetics in transgenerational health outcomes.
Any relevant financial relationships? No
I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.