Author(s): COSTA TENO, S., SILVA, M., SILVA, H., JÚDICE, P. , Institution: UNIVERSIDADE LUSÓFONA DE HUMANIDADES E TECNOLOGIAS, Country: PORTUGAL, Abstract-ID: 1007

INTRODUCTION:
Sedentary behaviour in the occupational domain has been linked to chronic diseases, mental health problems, and reduced wellbeing and quality-of-life. The reduction of sitting time (ST) can be achieved by contextual modification promoted by a sit-stand desk in the workplace. However, few studies have investigated the effect of reduced ST on participants quality-of-life and wellbeing, and the results are unclear.
METHODS:
An intervention with a psychoeducation session, motivational prompts, and contextual modification by a sit-stand desk in the workplace versus the control group (usual work) for 6 months was performed in 38 sedentary workers. In this investigation, data from a primary investigation were used to evaluate the changes in sedentary patterns, and we performed an analysis to evaluate the effect of the reduction in ST (objectively measured) on subjective wellbeing and quality-of-life, independently of the results found among groups. ActiPAL was used to assess ST, wellbeing was assessed via the World Health Organization Five Well-being Index (WHO-5), and EUROHIS-QOL 8-item instrument was used for quality-of-life. The T-test for independent samples and the paired T-test were used to evaluate the differences between groups before and after the intervention and repeated-measures ANOVA was conducted to evaluate the effects of the intervention on the interest outcomes.
RESULTS:
The findings from our intervention showed no differences between the control and intervention groups for ST. Our secondary analyses indicated that 13 participants out of the 38 totals reduced ST by at least 30 minutes/day (on average -72 min/day [± 40.0; p<.001], while 25 participants slightly reduced or even increased ST (on average +36.7 min/day [± 40.3; p=<.001]). Both reducers and non-reducers had an improvement in quality-of-life scores, but only those who reduced ST significantly improved subjective wellbeing (p=0.028). However, although there was a larger statistical power within participants that reduced ST, no time*group interaction was found, indicating a low impact of reducing ST on both outcomes.
CONCLUSION:
Although our results suggest improvement in subjective wellbeing from reducing ST in comparison to non-reducers, there was no longitudinal difference on the quality-of-life scores between the two groups, which suggests that simply providing office workers a psychoeducation session may positively change some health-related habits resulting in improved wellbeing and quality-of-life.