The association of major patterns of physical activity, sedentary behavior and sleep with health-related quality of life: a cohort study.

Abstract Objective To examine the prospective association of patterns of physical activity, sedentary behavior and sleep with health-related quality of life (HRQL) in the general population of Spain. Methods A cohort study with 4271 individuals aged ≥ 18 years was recruited in 2008–2010 and followed-up prospectively through 2012. Activity patterns were derived from factor analysis. HRQL was assessed with the SF-12 questionnaire, and suboptimal HRQL was defined as a score below the sex-specific sample median. Results Three main activity patterns were identified. A higher adherence to the pattern named “vigorous activity-seated at the computer” was inversely associated with a suboptimal score in the physical-composite summary (PCS) of the SF-12 (multivariate adjusted odds ratio [aOR] for the highest vs. the lowest quartile 0.71; 95% confidence interval [IC] 0.55–0.90; p-trend = 0.003). The “light activity-seated for reading” pattern was inversely associated with a suboptimal score in the mental-composite summary (aOR = 0.73; 95% CI = 0.61–0.89; p-trend = 0.002). However, a higher adherence to the “seated for watching TV-daytime sleeping” pattern was directly associated with suboptimal PCS (aOR = 1.35; 95% CI = 1.10–1.66; p-trend = 0.008). Conclusion Patterns including any physical activity were associated with better physical or mental HRQL. However, a pattern defined by sedentary behavior with diurnal sleep showed worse HRQL and should be a priority target of preventive interventions.