Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Physical activity (PA) and sedentary behavior (SB) include several domains, whether the association of PA and SB with perceived stress is domain-specific is not clear. This study aims to identify associations of physical activity (exercise and housework) and leisure-time sedentary behavior (LTSB) with perceived stress among Chinese adults. METHODS: The data were collected from the 2015 China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS). Respondents completed multiple questionnaires developed by the CHNS team, from which we extracted and sorted PA and LTSB data. Perceived stress was measured using the 14-item Perceived Stress Scale. PA was measured using a questionnaire covering 7 types of commonly practiced exercises and 4 types of housework activities among Chinese individuals. Consecutive questions were used to inquire about the time spent on each type of PA. The measurement of LTSB was conducted in the same manner. Data analysis involved Chi-square test and logistic regression. RESULTS: 11,471 adults were included, with an average age of 52.3 years, and 48.3 % were male. 69.9 % (8,019) of respondents reported high perceived stress. Following adjustment for age, gender and other factors, perceived stress was lower for adults reporting medium exercise time (1-2 h) compared with excessively (≥2 h) (OR=1.314 [95 %CI 1.071, 1.612], P<0.001) and least (<1 h) (OR=1.273 [95 %CI 1.115, 1.413], P<0.001) active adults. Perceived stress was higher for adults reporting less housework time (<1 h) compared with adults spending medium (1-2 h) (OR=0.860 [0.744, 0.993], P<0.05) and long (≥2 h) (OR=0.725 [95 %CI 0.628, 0.838], P<0.001) time on housework. Low-level LTSB (<2 h) was associated with higher perceived stress than medium- (2-4 h) (OR=0.817 [0.718, 0.930], P<0.01) and high-level LTSB (≥4 h) (OR=0.668 [0.577, 0.773], P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The association of PA and SB with perceived stress is domain-specific. Medium exercise time and extended housework time are associated with reduced perceived stress. Additionally, our findings suggesting that increasing the time spent on LTSB is linked to lower perceived stress levels.