title: Sitting Time, Fidgeting, and All-Cause Mortality in the UK Women's Cohort Study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Sedentary behaviors (including sitting) may increase mortality risk independently of physical activity level. Little is known about how fidgeting behaviors might modify the association.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data were from the United Kingdom (UK) Women's Cohort Study. In 1999-2002, a total of 12,778 women (aged 37-78 years) provided data on average daily sitting time, overall fidgeting (irrespective of posture), and a range of relevant covariates including physical activity, diet, smoking status, and alcohol consumption. Participants were followed for mortality over a mean of 12 years. Proportional hazards Cox regression models estimated the relative risk of mortality in high (versus low) and medium (versus low) sitting time groups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Fidgeting modified the risk associated with sitting time (p=0.04 for interaction), leading us to separate groups for analysis. Adjusting for covariates, sitting for ≥7 hours/day (versus <5 hours/day) was associated with 30% increased all-cause mortality risk (hazard ratio [HR]=1.30, 95% CI=1.02, 1.66) only among women in the low fidgeting group. Among women in the high fidgeting group, sitting for 5-6 hours/day (versus <5 hours/day) was associated with decreased mortality risk (HR=0.63, 95% CI=0.43, 0.91), adjusting for a range of covariates. There was no increased mortality risk from longer sitting time in the middle and high fidgeting groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Fidgeting may reduce the risk of all-cause mortality associated with excessive sitting time. More detailed and better-validated measures of fidgeting should be identified in other studies to replicate these findings and identity mechanisms, particularly measures that distinguish fidgeting in a seated from standing posture.
authors.affiliation: Health and Social Surveys Research Group, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London, London, United Kingdom. Electronic address: g.hagger-johnson@ucl.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Gareth
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Hagger-Johnson
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, School of Life Sciences, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, United Kingdom; Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Alan J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Gow
authors.affiliation: Nutritional Epidemiology Group, School of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom;
authors.forename: Victoria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Burley
authors.affiliation: Nutritional Epidemiology Group, School of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom;; Division of Biostatistics, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Darren
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Greenwood
authors.affiliation: Nutritional Epidemiology Group, School of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom;
authors.forename: Janet E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Cade
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002423:Cause of Death; D004032:Diet; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011187:Posture; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D057185:Sedentary Behavior; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013997:Time Factors; D006113:United Kingdom / Q000453:epidemiology; D016387:Women's Health