Objectively-assessed and self-reported sedentary time in relation to multiple socioeconomic status indicators among adults in England: a cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVES To examine the associations between socioeconomic position (SEP) and multidomain self-reported and objectively-assessed sedentary time (ST). DESIGN Cross-sectional. SETTING General population households in England. PARTICIPANTS 2289 adults aged 16-96 years who participated in the 2008 Health Survey for England. OUTCOMES Accelerometer-measured ST, and self-reported television time, non-television leisure-time sitting and occupational sitting/standing. We examined multivariable associations between household income, social class, education, area deprivation for each SEP indicator (including a 5-point composite SEP score computed by aggregating individual SEP indicators) and each ST indicator using generalised linear models. RESULTS Accelerometry-measured total ST and occupational sitting/standing were positively associated with SEP score and most of its constituent SEP indicators, while television time was negatively associated with SEP score and education level. Area-level deprivation was largely unrelated to ST. Those in the lowest composite SEP group spent 64 (95% CIs 52 to 76) and 72 (48 to 98), fewer minutes/day in total ST and occupational sitting/standing compared to those in the top SEP group, and an additional 48 (35-60) min/day watching television (p<0.001 for linear trend). Stratified analyses showed that these associations between composite SEP score and total ST were evident only among participants who were in employment. CONCLUSIONS Occupational sitting seems to drive the positive association between SEP and total ST. Lower SEP is linked to higher TV viewing times.