Jinhe Center for Economic Research, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.
Center for Aging Health Research, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.
Front Public Health. 2024 Oct 18;12:1468221. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1468221. eCollection 2024.
The relationship between sedentary behaviors and elevated blood pressure remains inconclusive, and the socioeconomic mechanisms underlying the linkage are rarely discussed. Since retirement is often associated with behavioral changes that impact health, this study aims to provide evidence on changes in leisure sedentary time after the statutory retirement age on elevated blood pressure, along with the socioeconomic mechanisms.
We utilized data from five waves (2004-2015) of the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS), focusing on males aged 55-65 employed in the formal sector. Leisure sedentary time, the independent variable, was measured based on self-reported data, while diastolic (DBP) and systolic (SBP) blood pressure were the dependent variables. Using statutory retirement policy as an exogenous variation, we employed a continuous difference-in-differences (DID) framework and a propensity score matching difference-in-differences (PSM-DID) approach to examine the relationship between changes in leisure sedentary time after the statutory retirement age and elevated blood pressure. The analysis was conducted using ordinary least squares (OLS). To address potential endogeneity, we applied the instrumental variable (IV) method via two-stage least squares (2SLS).
Our findings indicate an increase in diastolic blood pressure after statutory retirement, attributed to increased leisure sedentary time. However, there was no significant increase in systolic blood pressure. Moreover, physical activity did not appear to offset this rise in blood pressure, while higher educational attainment and having family members employed in the medical field helped mitigate its negative effects.
This study highlights the potential adverse impact of increased leisure sedentary time on diastolic blood pressure among middle-aged men in the formal sector, while also exploring the socioeconomic factors that may alleviate these effects. These results provide a foundation for public health initiatives aimed at addressing the rising prevalence of sedentary behavior and its association with blood pressure issues.
久坐行为与血压升高之间的关系仍不明确，而且很少讨论这种联系背后的社会经济机制。由于退休通常与影响健康的行为变化有关，因此本研究旨在提供证据证明法定退休年龄后休闲久坐时间的变化对血压升高的影响，以及其中的社会经济机制。
我们利用中国健康与营养调查（CHNS）五个波次（2004-2015 年）的数据，重点关注在正规部门工作的 55-65 岁男性。休闲久坐时间（自变量）基于自我报告数据进行测量，而舒张压（DBP）和收缩压（SBP）是因变量。利用法定退休政策作为外生变化，我们采用连续差分（DID）框架和倾向评分匹配差分（PSM-DID）方法来检验法定退休年龄后休闲久坐时间变化与血压升高之间的关系。分析采用普通最小二乘法（OLS）进行。为了解决潜在的内生性问题，我们通过两阶段最小二乘法（2SLS）应用工具变量（IV）方法。
我们的研究结果表明，法定退休后舒张压升高，这归因于休闲久坐时间的增加。然而，收缩压并没有显著增加。此外，身体活动似乎并没有抵消血压的这种升高，而较高的教育程度和有家庭成员在医疗领域工作有助于减轻其负面影响。
本研究强调了增加休闲久坐时间对中年男性在正规部门中舒张压的潜在不利影响，同时也探讨了可能减轻这些影响的社会经济因素。这些结果为旨在解决久坐行为流行率上升及其与血压问题关联的公共卫生倡议提供了基础。
