Public Health · Nov 27, 2025

A sedentary behaviour threshold for multimorbidity in older adults: Analyses from the Canadian health measures survey

By Maréchal R, Marcotte-Chénard A, Ghachem A et al.

OBJECTIVES: The present study aimed to establish a relative sedentary behavior time (RSBT)-i.e. proportion of wake time spent in SB-threshold above which the risks of multimorbidity significantly increase in older adults (OA). STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional observational study using secondary data analysis from the Canadian Health Measures Survey. METHODS: A total of 2641 OA (aged 65-79) participated in the Canadian Health Measures Survey (2007-2017) and wore an accelerometer for at least four valid days, including one weekend day. Multimorbidity was defined as the presence of two or more of these six health conditions: cancer, cardiovascular, metabolic, musculoskeletal, psychological, and pulmonary. Covariates are age, sex, body mass index, physical activity level, relationship status, type of lodging, education level, income, alcohol consumption and smoking status. RESULTS: Receiver Operating Characteristic curves were used to determine cut-off points, while odds ratios were calculated using multivariate logistic regressions. Optimal threshold for identifying multimorbidity was established at >79.4 % of RSBT (AUC = 0.579 [0.557-0.601]) while OA exceeding this threshold exhibited 1.58 (95 % CI: 1.35-1.84) increased odds of having multimorbidity. After controlling for all covariates, the risk remained at 1.29 (95 % CI: 1.09-1.53). CONCLUSION: These results contribute to establishing future clinical guidelines regarding SB in the OA population.

doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2025.106063PubMed 41313958Populations