The association between screen time and depression symptoms severity among adults with diabetes: A cross-sectional study

Objective: To investigate the association between time spent on screen-based sedentary behavior (SBSB) and depression symptom severity (DSS) among adults with type 2 diabetes.Methods: A cross-sectional study employing secondary data collected by Qatar Biobank (QBB) on 2386 adults with type 2 diabetes aged >= 18 years. Self-reported data on DSS measured using the Patient Health Quationnaire-9 and daily time spent on SBSB per week was used.Results: After adjusting for covariates, including physical activity and sleep duration, subjects who spent 2-4 h or > 4 h a day on SBSB watching TV or other devices other than computers during weekdays had increased odds of higher DSS than subjects who spent < 1 h by 44% (95% Confidence interval (CI) 13-83%) and 52% (95% CI 17-96%), respectively. Subjects who spent > 4 h a day on SBSB using computers during weekdays had increased odds of higher DSS by 115% (95% CI 56-196%) than subjects who spent < 1 h. Similar associations were observed between time spent on SBSB using the mentioned devices during weekends and DSS.Conclusion: Increase in time spent on SBSB is independently associated with increased DSS among adults with type 2 diabetes regardless of the equipment used or timing of the week.