Genetic Liability to Sedentary Behavior in Relation to Stroke, Its Subtypes and Neurodegenerative Diseases: A Mendelian Randomization Study

Objective: To investigate the causal association of domain-specific sedentary behaviors with cerebrovascular diseases and neurodegenerative diseases, and the potential mediators among these associations.Methods: Genetic instruments were identified for television watching, computer use and driving behavior from a genome-wide association study including 408,815 subjects. Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis was used to estimate the causal effect of sedentary behaviors on the cerebrovascular diseases and neurodegenerative diseases. Multivariable MR analysis was applied to adjust potential confounding factors, and mediation analysis was conducted to explore potential mediators.Results: Genetically predisposition to 1.5 h/day increase in leisure time watching television was associated with increased risk of all-cause stroke [odds ratio (OR) = 1.32, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.15–1.52, p-value for MR-Egger method (PEgger) = 0.11, I2 = 37%, Cochrane’s Q = 212, p-value for Cochran Q test (PQ) < 0.001], and ischemic stroke (OR = 1.28, 95%CI = 1.10–1.49, PEgger = 0.04, I2 = 35%, Cochrane’s Q = 206, PQ = 0.002). Interestingly, television watching may decrease the risk of Parkinson’s disease (OR = 0.65, 95%CI = 0.50–0.84, PEgger = 0.47, I2 = 19%, Cochrane’s Q = 157, PQ = 0.04). Television watching was a detrimental factor of cognitive performance (estimate = −0.46, 95%CI = −0.55 – −0.37, PEgger = 0.001, I2 = 85%, Cochrane’s Q = 862, PQ < 0.001). Sensitivity analyses using leave out method and MR-PRESSO method suggested weak evidence of pleiotropy.Conclusion: We provided genetic evidence for the causal association of television watching with increased risk of all-cause stroke and ischemic stroke, decreased risk of Parkinson’s disease, and worse cognitive performance. The results should be interpreted with caution considering the pleiotropy.

Leisure Sedentary Behavior and Risk of Lung Cancer: A Two-Sample Mendelian Randomization Study and Mediation Analysis

Leisure sedentary behavior, especially television watching, has been previously reported as associated with the risk of lung cancer in observational studies. This study aims to evaluate the causal association with two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis. Single nucleotide polymorphisms associated with leisure television watching, computer use, and driving were extracted from genome-wide association studies. Summary-level results of lung cancer overall and histological types were obtained from International Lung Cancer Consortium (ILCCO). In univariable MR using inverse-variance-weighted method, we observed causal effects of television watching on lung cancer [OR, 1.89, 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.41, 2.54; p = 2.33 × 10−5], and squamous cell lung cancer (OR, 2.37, 95% CI, 1.58, 3.55; p = 3.02 × 10−5), but not on lung adenocarcinoma (OR, 1.40, 95% CI, 0.94, 2.09; p = 0.100). No causal effects of computer use and driving on lung cancer were observed. Television watching significantly increased the exposure to several common risk factors of lung cancer. The associations of television watching with lung cancer and squamous cell lung cancer were compromised after adjusting for smoking quantity with multivariable MR. Our mediation analyses estimated indirect effects of television watching on lung cancer (beta, 0.31, 95% CI, 0.13, 0.52; p = 6.64 × 10−4) and squamous cell lung cancer (beta, 0.33, 95% CI, 0.14, 0.53, p = 4.76 × 10−4) mediated by smoking quantity. Our findings indicate that television watching is positively correlated with the risk of lung cancer, potentially mediated through affecting smoking quantity.

Relevance of Physical Activities, Sedentary Behaviors, and Genetic Predisposition in Body Fatness: Population-Based Study on Chinese Adults

<b><i>Introduction:</i></b> Little attention has been paid to the interacting effect of specific intensities of physical activities (PAs) and sedentary lifestyle, like television watching, and genetic predisposition on body composition indices among Chinese adults. Herein, we aimed to examine whether specific types of PAs and sedentary behaviors (SBs) were associated with body composition indices among Chinese adults and to further explore whether these associations interacted with the genetic predisposition to high BMI. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> Cross-sectional data regarding PAs and time spent on SBs and dietary intake of 3,976 Chinese adults (54.9% women) aged 25–65 years in Southwest China were obtained via questionnaires in 2013–2015. Weight, height, and waist circumference (WC) were measured, and BMI, percentage of body fat (%BF), fat mass index (FMI), and fat-free mass index (FFMI) of the participants were calculated. Genetic risk score (GRS) was calculated on 9 established BMI-associated SNPs among Chinese adults. <b><i>Results:</i></b> When the participants were stratified by GRS for BMI, significant associations were only found for adults with high GRS for BMI: moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) was negatively associated with WC and %BF and positively related to FFMI. The adjusted positive relationship of time spent watching television with BMI, WC, %BF, and FMI were also just found between adults with high weighted GRS for high BMI: for every 1 h increment in television watching, the BMI, WC, %BF, and FMI of the participants increased by 0.2 kg/m², 0.9 cm, 0.3%, and 0.1 kg/m², respectively (<i>p</i> &#x3c; 0.02). <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> MVPA may be a protective factor against obesity, and prolonged television watching may accentuate adiposity. These putative effects may be more pronounced among individuals with a high genetic risk of a high BMI.

Watching television and being affected by television according to the opinions of parents of children between the ages of three and six

Aim: The aim of this study is to examine the opinions of parents who have three to six years old children on the status of their children watching television and the effects of television on their children. Method: This is a sectional study. 256 parents participated in the study. The participation rate was 80%.A questionnaire form created by reviewing the literature was used as a data collection. Findings: Of the participating parents, 71.9% were female. Of the families, 23.0% had two televisions, and 6.2% of the participating children had a television in their room; 45.7% started to watch television after the age of two. The television was watched most in the evening hours (55.1%) and 63.7% of the children watched for one or two hours, while 33.6% watched for three hours or more in a day. The television was kept on for five-eight hours in 49.2% of the houses. Changes due to watching television were witnessed in the behaviors of 43,4% of the children, and 77.5% of these changes were found to be negative. The children watched cartoons (36.4%), kids’ programs (23.7%), documentaries (11.5%), and advertisements (10.7%) the most. Children were found to be most affected by the behaviors of cartoon characters (39.5%). Conclusions: This study indicates that the majority of the children between the ages of three and six years watch television for too long; the child participants watched cartoons and kids’ programs, and were influenced by cartoon characters’ behaviors the most; a majority of the parents believed that their children would prefer games over television; a majority of the children occasionally slept late after they had watched television; watching television for too long reduced their social activity, and caused them to have nightmares and to be aggressive. The amusing and educational television programs and letting children watch television to kill time are significant for children’s health. ​Extended English summary is in the end of Full Text PDF (TURKISH) file. Özet Amaç: Bu çalışmanın amacı, üç – altı yaş çocuğu olan ebeveynlerin, çocuklarının televizyon izleme durumları ve televizyonun çocukları üzerine etkilerine yönelik görüşlerinin incelenmesidir. Yöntem: Kesitsel bir araştırmadır. Çalışmaya 256 ebeveyn katılmış olup katılım oranı %80 bulunmuştur. Veriler literatürden yararlanılarak oluşturulan soru formu kullanılarak toplanmıştır. Bulgular: Çalışmaya katılan ebeveynlerin %71.9’unu anneler oluşturmaktadır. Evlerin % 23.0’ de 2 televizyon vardır ve çocukların % 6.2’nin odasında televizyon bulunmaktadır. Çocuklar akşam saatlerinde (%55.1) daha çok televizyon izlemektedir. Çocukların %63.7’si televizyon programlarını günde 1-2 saat, %33.6’sı ise 3 saat ve üzeri izlemektedir. Evlerin %49.2’’sin de televizyon 5 – 8 saat açık kalmaktadır. Çocukların % 77.5’inde olumsuz davranış değişimi olmaktadır.Çocukların %45.7’si 2 yaşından itibaren televizyon izlemeye başlamıştır. Çocuklar en çok çizgi film (%36.4), çocuk programları (%23.7), belgesel (%11.5) ve reklamları (%10.7) izlemektedir. Çocuklar en çok çizgi film kahramanlarının davranış şeklinden etkilenmektedir. Sonuç: Çalışmada 3-6 yaş grubu çocukların çoğunluğunun evde televizyon izleme ve televizyonun evde açık kalma sürelerinin uzun olması, çocukların en çok çizgi film ve çocuk programları izlemeleri, çizgi film kahramanlarının en çok davranışlarından etkilenmeleri, uzun süre televizyon izlemenin çocukların sosyalliklerinin azalmasına, kabus görmelerine ve saldırganlığına sebep olduğu ve televizyonun eğlendirici, eğitici-öğretici olması nedeni ile televizyon izletilmesi önemli sonuçlardır. Amaç: Bu çalışmanın amacı, üç – altı yaş çocuğu olan ebeveynlerin, çocuklarının televizyon izleme durumları ve televizyonun çocukları üzerine etkilerine yönelik görüşlerinin incelenmesidir. Yöntem: Kesitsel bir araştırmadır. Çalışmaya 256 ebeveyn katılmış olup katılım oranı %80 bulunmuştur. Veriler literatürden yararlanılarak oluşturulan soru formu kullanılarak toplanmıştır. Bulgular: Çalışmaya katılan ebeveynlerin %71.9’unu anneler oluşturmaktadır. Evlerin % 23.0’ de 2 televizyon vardır ve çocukların % 6.2’nin odasında televizyon bulunmaktadır. Çocuklar akşam saatlerinde (%55.1) daha çok televizyon izlemektedir. Çocukların %63.7’si televizyon programlarını günde 1-2 saat, %33.6’sı ise 3 saat ve üzeri izlemektedir. Evlerin %49.2’’sin de televizyon 5 – 8 saat açık kalmaktadır. Çocukların % 77.5’inde olumsuz davranış değişimi olmaktadır.Çocukların %45.7’si 2 yaşından itibaren televizyon izlemeye başlamıştır. Çocuklar en çok çizgi film (%36.4), çocuk programları (%23.7), belgesel (%11.5) ve reklamları (%10.7) izlemektedir. Çocuklar en çok çizgi film kahramanlarının davranış şeklinden etkilenmektedir. Sonuç: Çalışmada 3-6 yaş grubu çocukların çoğunluğunun evde televizyon izleme ve televizyonun evde açık kalma sürelerinin uzun olması, çocukların en çok çizgi film ve çocuk programları izlemeleri, çizgi film kahramanlarının en çok davranışlarından etkilenmeleri, uzun süre televizyon izlemenin çocukların sosyalliklerinin azalmasına, kabus görmelerine ve saldırganlığına sebep olduğu ve televizyonun eğlendirici, eğitici-öğretici olması nedeni ile televizyon izletilmesi önemli sonuçlardır.

Leisure and alienation in Houellebecq’s fiction

This article examines representations of leisure in Michel Houellebecq’s fiction. Theorised as a new human need that arose from the alienating nature of work in industrial society, leisure is one of three sectors of everyday life explored by modern sociologists. Marxist philosopher and sociologist Henri Lefebvre saw in leisure a domain in which human beings could experience moments of freedom and fulfilment, but which was becoming increasingly controlled and commercialised and therefore as potentially alienating as work. This article argues that Houellebecq’s fiction portrays contemporary leisure activities, such as shopping, tourism, physical exercise, smoking, and television-watching, as manifestations of this latter kind of leisure, which has proliferated under neoliberalism. His protagonists attempt, if often half-heartedly, to compensate for neoliberalism’s erosion of family and work as stabilising forces to find identity and fulfilment in leisure. If their efforts inevitably fail, Houellebecq’s attention to everyday leisure at least confirms Lefebvre’s contention that a critical evaluation of leisure was increasingly urgent.

147 Within-Family Dynamics Influencing Parent and Child Sleep Quality and Nighttime Activities

Introduction Increasing efforts have focused on child sleep due to its benefits to academics and physical/mental health. Less understood are the within-family dynamics that drive sleep-related behavior. Methods Data were obtained from the 2014 National Sleep Foundation Sleep in America Poll (N=1102 parent/child dyads). Variables including age, gender, sleep quality (Excellent/Good/Fair/Poor), evening activities including reading, TV-watching, and online browsing/gaming (Never/Rarely/Sometimes/Often) were reported for parent and child. Ordinal logistic regressions examined child nighttime activity as outcome and nighttime activities (entered simultaneously in the model, adjusted for each other) as independent variables, adjusted for parent and child age, sex, and sleep quality. Results Worse sleep quality in parents was associated with worse sleep quality in their children. Moreover, increased likelihood of child television-watching at night was not associated with parental sleep quality, but it was associated with child sleep quality, with “Fair” and “Poor” sleepers more likely to watch TV (Fair: oOR=1.7,p=0.018; Poor: oOR=8.0,p=0.001). Child television-watching was not associated with likelihood of parental reading, but it was associated with likelihood of parental online browsing/gaming (Rarely oOR=1.7,p=0.001; Sometimes oOR=2.3,p&lt;0.0005; Often oOR=1.9,p=0.004) and parental TV-watching (Rarely oOR=2.6,p&lt;0.0005; Sometimes oOR=5.4,p&lt;0.0005; Often oOR=13.3,p&lt;0.0005). Child online browsing/gaming was also not associated with parental sleep quality but it was associated with child sleep quality (Fair oOR=2.3,p=0.001; Poor oOR=4.8,p=0.009) and parental reading (Rarely oOR=1.5,p=0.04; Often oOR=1.6,p=0.03), TV-watching (Rarely oOR=2.3,p=0.004; Sometimes oOR=2.8,p&lt;0.0005; Often oOR=4.6,p&lt;0.0005) and online browsing/gaming (Rarely oOR=2.8,p&lt;0.0005; Sometimes oOR=5.0,p&lt;0.0005; Often oOR=7.8,p&lt;0.0005). Child reading was not associated with parent or child sleep quality or parental online browsing/gaming, but it was related to parental TV-watching (Sometimes oOR=1.45,p=0.04; Often oOR=1.6,p=0.02) and reading (Rarely oOR=2.4,p&lt;0.0005; Sometimes oOR=4.4,p&lt;0.0005; Often oOR=6.9,p&lt;0.0005). Conclusion Children who do not sleep well have parents who do not sleep well. Further, parents who read are more likely to have children who read, and parents on screens are more likely to have children on screens. Interventions targeted to parents may lead to better sleep habits in children. Support (if any):

Watching Videos and Television Is Related to a Lower Development of Complex Language Comprehension in Young Children with Autism

The effect of passive video and television watching duration on 2- to 5-year-old children with autism was investigated in the largest and the longest observational study to date. Parents assessed the development of 3227 children quarterly for three years. Longer video and television watching were associated with better development of expressive language but significantly impeded development of complex language comprehension. On an annualized basis, low TV users (low quartile: 40 min or less of videos and television per day) improved their language comprehension 1.4 times faster than high TV users (high quartile: 2 h or more of videos and television per day). This difference was statistically significant. At the same time, high TV users improved their expressive language 1.3 times faster than low TV users. This difference was not statistically significant. No effect of video and television watching duration on sociability, cognition, or health was detected.