Prospective cohort study on television viewing time and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease mortality: findings from the Japan Collaborative Cohort Study
METHODS: A total of 72,702 adults (31,200 males and 41,502 females) aged 40 to 79 years without a history of stroke, myocardial infarction, cancer, and tuberculosis, who were followed for a median of 17.3 years, were studied. Participants who died or were censored within five years from the baseline were not included. The Cox proportional hazards model was used to calculate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for COPD (J41 to J44 and J47 by the International Classification of Diseases 10th revision) mortality adjusted for study area, age, smoking status (never smokers exposure to environmental tobacco smoke at home or in public places almost every day, less or unknown, former smokers time since quitting ≥10 or <10 years or unknown, and current smokers with ≥20 or <20 pack years or unknown), body mass index (BMI<18.5, 18.5-24.9, ≥25.0, unknown), educational level (school up to age 15, 15-18, ≥19 years, unknown), marital status (single, married, divorced/widowed, unknown), and alcohol consumption (never, former, current alcohol drinker, unknown).
RESULTS: During the study period, 254 (223 males and 31 females) participants died of COPD. The HR of male participants who watched TV for more than 4 hours daily was 1.68 (95% CI, 1.04-2.74) compared to those with the habit less than 2 hours per day. No association was found among women (HR, 0.75; 95%CI: 0.25-2.28).
CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that reducing the amount of time spent watching TV may be beneficial for preventing death from COPD.