Impact of ambient air pollution on physical activity and sedentary behavior in children
Abstract Background Exposure to air pollution has become a serious environmental issue affecting children’s health and health-related behavior in China. Previous studies have focused on the associations between air pollution and physical activity among adults; however, few have examined the relation...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2023-02-01
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| Series: | BMC Public Health |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-023-15269-8 |
| _version_ | 1797863347289325568 |
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| author | Hongjun Yu Heran Zhang |
| author_facet | Hongjun Yu Heran Zhang |
| author_sort | Hongjun Yu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Exposure to air pollution has become a serious environmental issue affecting children’s health and health-related behavior in China. Previous studies have focused on the associations between air pollution and physical activity among adults; however, few have examined the relationship between air pollution and health-related behavior among children, which are particularly susceptible population subgroups. The present study aims to examine the impact of air pollution on daily physical activity (PA) and sedentary behavior (SB) among children in China. Methods PA and SB data were collected by actiGraph accelerometers for eight consecutive days. PA and SB data from 206 children were matched to daily air pollution obtained from the Ministry of Environmental Protection of the People’s Republic of China, including the average daily air quality index (AQI), PM2.5 (µg/m³), and PM10 (µg/m³). Associations were estimated using linear individual fixed-effect regressions. Results A 10-unit increase in daily AQI was associated with a reduction in daily PA by 5.94 (95% confidence interval [CI] = -8.79, -3.08) minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and 229.82 (95% CI = -345.35, -114.28) walking steps and an increase in daily SB by 15.77 (95% CI = 9.01, 22.53) minutes. A 10 µg/m³ increase in air pollution concentration in daily PM2.5 was associated with a reduction in daily PA by 7.51 (95% CI = -11.04, -3.97) minutes of MVPA, 295.69 (95% CI = -438.46, -152.92) walking steps and an increase in daily SB by 21.12 (95% CI = 12.77, 29.47) minutes. A 10 µg/m³ increase in air pollution concentration in daily PM10 was associated with a reduction in daily PA by 13.18 (95% confidence interval [CI] = -15.98, -10.37) minutes of MVPA, 518.34 (95% CI = -631.77, -404.91) walking steps and an increase in daily SB by 19.87 (95% CI = 13.10, 26.64) minutes. Conclusion Air pollution may discourage physical activity and increase sedentary behavior among children. Policy interventions are needed to reduce air pollution and develop strategies to decrease risks to children’s health. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-09T22:34:07Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a32903d7635542418c007759f1ee9e03 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1471-2458 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-09T22:34:07Z |
| publishDate | 2023-02-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Public Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-a32903d7635542418c007759f1ee9e032023-03-22T12:36:18ZengBMCBMC Public Health1471-24582023-02-0123111010.1186/s12889-023-15269-8Impact of ambient air pollution on physical activity and sedentary behavior in childrenHongjun Yu0Heran Zhang1Department of Physical Education, Tsinghua UniversityDepartment of Physical Education, Tsinghua UniversityAbstract Background Exposure to air pollution has become a serious environmental issue affecting children’s health and health-related behavior in China. Previous studies have focused on the associations between air pollution and physical activity among adults; however, few have examined the relationship between air pollution and health-related behavior among children, which are particularly susceptible population subgroups. The present study aims to examine the impact of air pollution on daily physical activity (PA) and sedentary behavior (SB) among children in China. Methods PA and SB data were collected by actiGraph accelerometers for eight consecutive days. PA and SB data from 206 children were matched to daily air pollution obtained from the Ministry of Environmental Protection of the People’s Republic of China, including the average daily air quality index (AQI), PM2.5 (µg/m³), and PM10 (µg/m³). Associations were estimated using linear individual fixed-effect regressions. Results A 10-unit increase in daily AQI was associated with a reduction in daily PA by 5.94 (95% confidence interval [CI] = -8.79, -3.08) minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and 229.82 (95% CI = -345.35, -114.28) walking steps and an increase in daily SB by 15.77 (95% CI = 9.01, 22.53) minutes. A 10 µg/m³ increase in air pollution concentration in daily PM2.5 was associated with a reduction in daily PA by 7.51 (95% CI = -11.04, -3.97) minutes of MVPA, 295.69 (95% CI = -438.46, -152.92) walking steps and an increase in daily SB by 21.12 (95% CI = 12.77, 29.47) minutes. A 10 µg/m³ increase in air pollution concentration in daily PM10 was associated with a reduction in daily PA by 13.18 (95% confidence interval [CI] = -15.98, -10.37) minutes of MVPA, 518.34 (95% CI = -631.77, -404.91) walking steps and an increase in daily SB by 19.87 (95% CI = 13.10, 26.64) minutes. Conclusion Air pollution may discourage physical activity and increase sedentary behavior among children. Policy interventions are needed to reduce air pollution and develop strategies to decrease risks to children’s health.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-023-15269-8AQIPM2.5PM10Physical activitySedentary behaviorChildren |
| spellingShingle | Hongjun Yu Heran Zhang Impact of ambient air pollution on physical activity and sedentary behavior in children BMC Public Health AQI PM2.5 PM10 Physical activity Sedentary behavior Children |
| title | Impact of ambient air pollution on physical activity and sedentary behavior in children |
| title_full | Impact of ambient air pollution on physical activity and sedentary behavior in children |
| title_fullStr | Impact of ambient air pollution on physical activity and sedentary behavior in children |
| title_full_unstemmed | Impact of ambient air pollution on physical activity and sedentary behavior in children |
| title_short | Impact of ambient air pollution on physical activity and sedentary behavior in children |
| title_sort | impact of ambient air pollution on physical activity and sedentary behavior in children |
| topic | AQI PM2.5 PM10 Physical activity Sedentary behavior Children |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-023-15269-8 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT hongjunyu impactofambientairpollutiononphysicalactivityandsedentarybehaviorinchildren AT heranzhang impactofambientairpollutiononphysicalactivityandsedentarybehaviorinchildren |