Sedentary behaviour among general practitioners: a systematic review

Abstract

Background Sedentary behaviour is when someone is awake, in a sitting, lying or reclining posture and is an independent risk factor for multiple causes of morbidity and mortality. A dose-response relationship has been demonstrated, whereby increasing sedentary time corresponds with increasing mortality rate. This study aimed to identify current levels of sedentary behaviour among General Practitioners (GPs), by examining and synthesising how sedentary behaviour has been measured in the primary care literature. Methods A systematic review was conducted to identify studies relating to levels of sedentary behaviour among GPs. Searches were performed using Medline®, Embase®, PscycINFO, Web of Science and the Cochrane Library, from inception of databases until January 2020, with a subsequent search of grey literature. Articles were assessed for quality and bias, with extraction of relevant data. Results The search criteria returned 1707 studies. Thirty four full texts were reviewed and 2 studies included in the final review. Both were cross-sectional surveys using self-reported estimation of sedentary time within the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). Keohane et al. examined GP trainees and GP trainers in Ireland. 60% reported spending in excess of 7 h sitting each day, 24% between 4 and 7 h, and 16% less than or equal to 4 h. Suija et al. examined female GPs in Estonia. The mean reported daily sitting time was 6 h and 36 min, with 56% sitting for over 6 h per day. Both studies were of satisfactory methodological quality but had a high risk of bias. Conclusion There is a paucity of research examining current levels of sedentary behaviour among GPs. Objective data is needed to determine GPs’ current levels of sedentary behaviour, particularly in light of the increase in remote consulting as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Self-Reported Assessment of Occupational Sitting and Physical Activity Among Employees

“…Primarily during this COVID-19 pandemic, most of them work from home, with an average daily working time for sedentary jobs of 7.21±3.23 hours/day. The results of this study are consistent with the other researchers who revealed that the majority of time spent by workers is sitting [43]- [45]. During the Covid-19 pandemic, employees who worked from home spent more time engaging in sedentary behavior [29].…”

Frequency of cardiovascular risk factors in young physicians of the Hospital de Clínicas

“…Los más sedentarios fueron los de especialidad quirúrgica, probablemente debido a su doble turno laboral y es más frecuente en el sexo femenino. En otros estudios realizados en médicos de países de la región (Argentina, Colombia, Chile) y de otros continentes (Camerún, Irlanda y Estonia) encontraron también predominio de la conducta (5,6,13,14,(17)(18)(19)(20) sedentaria como FRCV . La conducta sedentaria es un factor de riesgo modificable, por lo…”

“…Se encontró una frecuencia baja de la DM2 con relación a otros FRCV, con predominio absoluto del sexo masculino, probablemente este hallazgo sea debido a que esta enfermedad se presenta en edades más avanzadas. En otros estudios en médicos con edad mayor a esta población encontraron (14)(15)(16)(17)19,29) mayor frecuencia de DM2 .…”

Comportamento sedentário e sua associação com incapacidade funcional em idosos

“…O CS se refere ao tempo em vigília que o indivíduo passa deitado, sentado ou reclinado com baixo gasto energético, ou seja, abaixo de 1,5 equivalentes metabólicos. 14,15 Sugere-se que esse comportamento é prejudicial à saúde cardiorrespiratória, metabólica e musculoesquelética, 13,16,17 portanto, poderia associar-se à incapacidade funcional. 14,[18][19][20] Em estudo realizado nos Estados Unidos, verificou-se que as chances de incapacidade se mostraram mais elevadas (OR: 1,14; IC 95%: 1,02; 1,29) em idosas com mais de 85 anos que permaneciam sentadas por 10 horas diárias, quando comparadas às idosas que ficavam tempos inferiores a 5 horas diárias em CS.…”