Citation

Wang X, Li Y, Fan H. BMC Public Health 2019; 19(1): e1524.

Affiliation

School of Forensic Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510515, Guangdong, China. fanhaoliang198931@163.com.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group - BMC)

DOI

10.1186/s12889-019-7904-9

PMID

31727052

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The use of computers/TV has become increasingly common worldwide after entering the twenty-first century and depression represents a growing public health burden. Understanding the association between screen time-based sedentary behavior (ST-SB) and the risk of depression is important to the development of prevention and intervention strategies.

METHODS: We searched the electronic databases of Medline, Embase and the Cochrane Library. The odds ratio (OR) with corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) was adopted as the pooled measurement. Subgroup analyses were investigated by stratified meta-analyses based on age, gender and reference group (reference category of screen time, e.g. 2 h/day, 4 h/day).

RESULTS: There were 12 cross-sectional studies and 7 longitudinal studies met the inclusion criteria. Overall, the pooled OR was 1.28 with high heterogeneity (I² = 89%). Compared to those who reported less SB, persons reporting more SB had a significantly higher risk of depression. When the gender was stratified, the pooled OR was 1.18 in female groups while no significant association was observed in males. Among the 19 studies, 5 studies used a reference group with ST = 2 h/days (pooled OR = 1.46), 9 studies used ≥4 h as a reference group (pooled OR = 1.38), 2 studies used 1 h as a reference group (pooled OR = 1.07) and for the remaining 3 studies, hours of ST were calculated as a continuous variable (pooled OR = 1.04).

CONCLUSIONS: ST-SB is associated with depression risk and the effects vary in different populations. In addition, valid objective measures of SB should be developed in future studies.

Language: en

Keywords

Depression; Mental health; Odds ratio; Sedentary behavior