One-year follow-up of a sit-stand workstation intervention to decrease sedentary time in office workers.

BACKGROUND

Prolonged sedentary time is associated with adverse health outcomes, after controlling for the role of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. We previously reported on a four-week randomized trial using a sit-stand desk (SSD) intervention that decreased sedentary time at work without changing activity level during non-work hours.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this study was to measure the impact of the SSD on sitting time and activity level one year after the original intervention.

METHODS

A pre-post design was used where the control period from the original study was regarded as "pre" and the measurements made in the follow-up study as "post." The follow-up study was conducted in the same office workers over a two-week period in June 2013.

RESULTS

Fifteen out of the 23 participants took part in the follow-up study. Self-reported sitting time during work-hours was decreased by 22% (95% CI: 15% to 29%;  < 0.001), replaced almost entirely by standing. Activity measured by Gruve accelerometer during work-hours were significantly higher in the one-year follow-up period compared to baseline (+24,748 AU/h; 95% CI: 7150 to 42,347;  < 0.01). Sedentary time during work-hours was decreased by 0.77 min per work-hour (95% CI: -1.88 to 0.33 min/h;  = 0.17). Qualitative findings through focus group sessions suggested the workers had overall favorable experiences with the SSDs without negatively impacting productivity.

CONCLUSION

One year following the original intervention, participants continue to have increased activity and decreased sedentary time at work with the use of SSDs.