AUTHOR=Rodriguez Roca Beatriz , Tully Mark A. , Sansano-Nadal Oriol , Caserotti Paolo , Coll-Planas Laura , Roqué Marta , Brønd Jan , Blackburn Nicole E. , Wilson Jason J. , Rothenbacher Dietrich , McIntosh Emma , Deidda Manuela , Andrade-Gómez Elena , Giné-Garriga Maria 

TITLE=Is education level, as a proxy for socio-economic position, related to device-measured and self-reported sedentary behavior in European older adults? A cross-sectional study from the SITLESS project

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Public Health

VOLUME=11

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1296821

DOI=10.3389/fpubh.2023.1296821

ISSN=2296-2565

ABSTRACT=<sec id="sec1"><title>Background</title><p>Sedentary behavior (SB) is a determinant of health in older adult people. Educational level is a primary driver of health disparities and is demonstrated to be a reliable measure of socioeconomic position. We aimed to examine the associations between educational level and self-reported along with device-measured SB in older adults living in Europe and the association of mentally active and passive SB domains with the educational level and gender in these associations.</p></sec><sec id="sec2"><title>Methods</title><p>The design is cross-sectional. One thousand three hundred and sixty participants aged 65 and over (75.3±6.3 years old, 61.8% women) participated. Inclusion criteria were scored with the Short Physical Performance Battery. Variables that describe the sample were assessed with an interview, and device-measured SB was assessed with an accelerometer. SB was assessed with the Sedentary Behavior Questionnaire and an accelerometer. Multiple linear regression models were used to study the association between the level of education and SB.</p></sec><sec id="sec3"><title>Results</title><p>Participants self-reported an average of 7.82 (SD: 3.02) daily waking hours of SB during weekend days, and the average of device-measured SB was 11.39 (1.23) h. Total mentally active SB (weekdays and weekends) was associated with the education level (<italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.000). Participants were more sedentary during the week than during weekends, regardless of level of education (<italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.000). Education level was significantly associated with self-reported mean hours per day in 46SB (<italic>p</italic> = 0.000; <italic>R</italic>=0.026; 95%CI).</p></sec><sec id="sec4"><title>Conclusion</title><p>Low education level in older adults is associated with self-reported SB but not with objective SB measures.</p></sec>