Association between socioeconomic status and prolonged television viewing time in a general Japanese population: NIPPON DATA2010

BACKGROUND@#It has been pointed out that prolonged television (TV) viewing is one of the sedentary behaviors that is harmful to health; however, the association between socioeconomic status (SES) and prolonged TV viewing time has not been sufficiently investigated in Japan.@*METHODS@#The study population are the participants of NIPPON DATA2010, which is a prospective cohort study of the National Health and Nutrition Survey 2010 in Japan. They were residents in 300 randomly selected areas across Japan. This study included 2752 adults. SES was classified according to the employment status, educational attainment, living status, and equivalent household expenditure (EHE). Prolonged TV viewing time was defined as more than or equal to 4 h of TV viewing per day. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine the association of SES with prolonged TV viewing time.@*RESULTS@#The mean TV viewing time was 2.92 h in all participants. Of 2752 participants, 809 (29.4%) prolonged TV viewing, and the mean TV viewing time of them was 5.61 h. The mean TV viewing time in participants without prolonged TV viewing time was 1.81 h. The mean TV viewing time was prolonged as age classes increased and significantly longer in aged ≥60 years. Prolonged TV viewing time was associated with not working for all age classes and sexes. Only among women, education attainment and living status were also associated with prolonged TV viewing time. For education attainment, the lower the received years of education, the higher odds ratios (OR) of prolonged TV viewing time. For living status, in women aged <60 years, living with others had a significantly higher OR compared to living with spouse. On the other hand, in women aged ≥60 years, living alone had a significantly higher OR. EHE did not have any significant associations with prolonged TV viewing time.@*CONCLUSIONS@#In a general Japanese population, it should be noted that the association between SES and prolonged TV viewing time differed by age and sex. Particularly, it must draw attention to the prolonged TV viewing in elderly. The intervention in order to shorten TV viewing time needs to consider these attributes.

Socioeconomic and lifestyle factors associated with depressive tendencies in general Japanese men and women: NIPPON DATA2010

BACKGROUND@#The gender-specific characteristics of individuals at an increased risk of developing depression currently remain unclear despite a higher prevalence of depression in women than in men. This study clarified socioeconomic and lifestyle factors associated with an increased risk of subclinical depression in general Japanese men and women.@*METHODS@#Study participants were residents not receiving psychiatric treatments in 300 sites throughout Japan in 2010 (1152 men, 1529 women). Multivariable-adjusted odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CIs) for socioeconomic factors and lifestyle factors were calculated using a logistic regression analysis.@*RESULTS@#Risk of depressive tendencies was significantly higher in men who were single and living alone (OR, 3.27; 95% CI, 1.56-6.88) than those married. The risk was significantly lower in women who were not working and aged ≥ 60 years (OR, 0.39; 95% CI, 0.22-0.68) and higher in men who were not working and aged < 60 years (OR, 3.57; 95%CI, 1.31-9.72) compared with those who were working. Current smoking was also associated with a significantly increased risk of depressive tendencies in women (OR, 2.96; 95% CI, 1.68-5.22) but not in men.@*CONCLUSIONS@#Socioeconomic and lifestyle factors were associated with an increased risk of depressive tendencies in general Japanese. Related factors were different by sex.