Air pollution may be a risk factor for physical inactivity and sedentary behaviour (SED) through discouraging active lifestyles, impairing fitness and contributing to chronic diseases with potentially important consequences for population health.
Using generalized estimating equations, we examined the associations between long-term particulate matter with diameter ≤2.5 μm (PM2.5), ≤10 μm (PM10) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and annual change in accelerometer-measured SED, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and steps in adults at risk of type 2 diabetes within the Walking Away from Type 2 Diabetes trial. We adjusted for important confounders including social deprivation and measures of the built environment.
From 808 participants, 644 had complete data (1605 observations; 64.7% men; mean age 63.86 years). PM2.5, NO2 and PM10 were not associated with change in MVPA/steps but were associated with change in SED, with a 1 ugm−3 increase associated with 6.38 (95% confidence interval: 0.77, 12.00), 1.52 (0.49, 2.54) and 4.48 (0.63, 8.34) adjusted annual change in daily minutes, respectively.
Long-term PM2.5, NO2 and PM10 exposures were associated with an annual increase in SED: ~11–22 min/day per year across the sample range of exposure (three standard deviations). Future research should investigate whether interventions to reduce pollution may influence SED.