Influence of Ambient Air Pollution on Television Use among Residents in Shanghai, China.

Objectives: We examined the impact of ambient air pollution on television use among residents in Shanghai, China. Methods: Device-measured daily average duration of television use from January 2014 to December 2016 was obtained from a random sample of 300 households and was matched to air pollution and weather data. We used an autoregressive moving-average model to estimate the association between air quality index (AQI) and television use. Results: There was a negative non-linear relationship between air pollution level and television use. Compared to the days when air quality was good (0⩽AQI⩽50), days with fair air quality (50<AQI⩽100), light air pollution (100<AQI⩽150) and moderate-to-severe air pollution (AQI>150) were associated with a reduction in daily average television use by 2.9 (p = .002), 4.6 (p < .001) and 1.9 (p = .369) minutes, respectively. Television use decreased with daytime temperature but increased on weekend days, holidays and rainy days. Conclusions: Modest but not more severe air pollution was associated with reduced television use. People might mitigate the detrimental impact of air pollution by engaging in other indoor activities and/or sleeping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]