Patterns and predictors of sitting time over ten years in a large population-based Canadian sample: findings from the Canadian Multicentre Osteoporosis Study (CaMos)

Our objective was to describe patterns and predictors of sedentary behavior (sitting time) over 10 years among a large Canadian cohort. Data are from the Canadian Multicentre Osteoporosis Study, a prospective study of women and men randomly selected from the general population. Respondents reported socio-demographics, lifestyle behaviors and health outcomes in interviewer-administered questionnaires; weight and height were measured. Baseline data were collected between 1995 and 1997 (n = 9418; participation rate = 42%), and at 5- (n = 7648) and 10-year follow-ups (n = 5567). Total sitting time was summed across domain-specific questions at three time points and dichotomized into “low” (≤ 7 h/day) and “high” (> 7 h/day), based on recent meta-analytic evidence on time sitting and all-cause mortality. Ten-year sitting patterns were classified as “consistently high”, “consistently low”, “increased”, “decreased”, and “mixed”. Predictors of sedentary behavior patterns were explored using chi-square tests, ANOVA and logistic regression. At baseline (mean age = 62.1 years ± 13.4) average sitting was 6.9 h/day; it was 7.0 at 5- and 10-year follow-ups (p for trend = 0.12). Overall 23% reported consistently high sitting time, 22% consistently low sitting, 14% decreased sitting, 17% increased sitting with 24% mixed patterns. Consistently high sitters were more likely to be men, university educated, full-time employed, obese, and to report consistently low physical activity levels. This is one of the first population-based studies to explore patterns of sedentary behavior (multi-domain sitting) within men and women over years. Risk classification of sitting among many adults changed during follow-up. Thus, studies of sitting and health would benefit from multiple measures of sitting over time.