Summary: Increased daily television viewing is significantly associated with an increase in bodily and chronic pain severity over time, especially for those with Type 2 Diabetes.
Source: Baker Institute
Data from 4,099 participants of the Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle Study (AusDiab) has revealed that an increase in daily TV-watching time is significantly associated with an increase in bodily pain severity over time, according to a new study from the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute.
Bodily pain is common in aging adults and a common presentation in several chronic diseases, including people living with type 2 diabetes.
“We found that increments in TV-viewing time over time predicted bodily pain severity,” Professor David Dunstan, principal researcher and Head of the Baker-Deakin Department of Lifestyle and Diabetes said. “Even a one-hour increase in daily TV time was significantly associated with an increase in pain severity.
“And those findings were even more pronounced in those living with type 2 diabetes.”
The study, published last week in the journal BMC Public Health, derived bodily pain score data using a validated self-report survey instrument for assessing health-related quality of life. The scores were measured on a 0–100 scale, whereby the lowest possible score of 0 indicated severe bodily pain and 100 indicated no bodily pain.
The study found that as average daily TV-viewing time increased, bodily pain worsened (score decreased). The mean bodily pain score for those aged 50 years at the start of the study, for example, was 76.9 and worsened by 0.3 units year-on-year. An increase of one hour in TV watching led to a worsening of bodily pain by 0.69 units (score further decreased), or the equivalent of more than two years of pain associated with natural aging.
The study also found that the bodily pain scores for people living with type 2 diabetes were even more pronounced. The type 2 diabetes cohort had higher TV-viewing time and more severe bodily pain than those without the condition.
People without type 2 diabetes watched on average 1.6 hours per day, compared to 2.2 hours for people with type 2 diabetes. When TV-watching time increased above 2.5 hours per day, the impact on bodily pain severity increased even more significantly.
Long uninterrupted periods of time spent sitting (sedentary behavior), especially watching TV, can adversely impact blood glucose control, insulin and other aspects of metabolism in people with type 2 diabetes. Such alterations in metabolism increase levels of inflammation, which can act to precipitate bodily pain.
These new findings highlight the benefits of reducing time spent in sedentary behaviors, for both the general population and those living with chronic disease.
“We know that increasing physical activity is a mainstay of the prevention and management of chronic health problems, but these new findings highlight the positive impact that reducing sedentary behaviors could have,” Professor Dunstan said.
“Doing something as simple as reducing daily TV-watching time can have a profound effect on bodily pain trajectories that occur with aging, and also potentially be a non-pharmacologic intervention, or work hand-in-hand with other therapies, for chronic pain management.”
Higher volumes of sedentary time have been shown to be associated with increased risk of all-cause mortality, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and some cancers. This study, however, is the first to report evidence of an increase in severity of bodily pain with advancing age in middle-aged and older adults with increasing hours per day spent watching television.
About this pain research news
Author: Press Office
Source: Baker Institute
Contact: Press Office – Baker Institute
Image: The image is in the public domain
Original Research: Open access.
“Television-viewing time and bodily pain in Australian adults with and without type 2 diabetes: 12-year prospective relationships” by Francis Q. S. Dzakpasu et al. BMC Public Health
Abstract
Television-viewing time and bodily pain in Australian adults with and without type 2 diabetes: 12-year prospective relationships
Background
Bodily pain is a common presentation in several chronic diseases, yet the influence of sedentary behaviour, common in ageing adults, is unclear. Television-viewing (TV) time is a ubiquitous leisure-time sedentary behaviour, with a potential contribution to the development of bodily pain. We examined bodily pain trajectories and the longitudinal relationships of TV time with the bodily pain severity; and further, the potential moderation of the relationships by type 2 diabetes (T2D) status.
Method
Data were from 4099 participants (aged 35 to 65 years at baseline) in the Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle Study (AusDiab), who took part in the follow-ups at 5 years, 12 years, or both. Bodily pain (from SF36 questionnaire: a 0 to 100 scale, where lower scores indicate more-severe pain), TV time, and T2D status [normal glucose metabolism (NGM), prediabetes, and T2D] were assessed at all three time points. Multilevel growth curve modelling used age (centred at 50 years) as the time metric, adjusting for potential confounders, including physical activity and waist circumference.
Results
Mean TV time increased, and bodily pain worsened (i.e., mean bodily pain score decreased) across the three time points. Those with T2D had higher TV time and more-severe bodily pain than those without T2D at all time points. In a fully adjusted model, the mean bodily pain score for those aged 50 years at baseline was 76.9(SE: 2.2) and worsened (i.e., bodily pain score decreased) significantly by 0.3(SE: 0.03) units every additional year (p <0.001). Those with initially more-severe pain had a higher rate of increase in pain severity. At any given time point, a one-hour increase in daily TV time was significantly associated with an increase in pain severity [bodily pain score decreased by 0.69 (SE: 0.17) units each additional hour; p <0.001], accounting for the growth factor (age) and confounders’ effects. The association was more-pronounced in those with T2D than in those without (prediabetes or NGM), with the effect of T2D on bodily pain severity becoming more apparent as TV time increases, significantly so when TV time increased above 2.5 hours per day.
Conclusion
Bodily pain severity increased with age in middle-aged and older Australian adults over a 12-year period, and increments in TV time predicted increased bodily pain severity at any given period, which was more pronounced in those with T2D. While increasing physical activity is a mainstay of the prevention and management of chronic health problems, these new findings highlight the potential of reducing sedentary behaviours in this context.
