Trends and rural–urban disparities in selected sedentary-related leisure activities among Chinese older adults, 2008–2018

This study examined trends and rural – urban disparities in sedentary-related leisure activities among Chinese older adults and identified associated factors. Repeated cross-sectional data were obtained from four waves (2008–2018) of the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS). Three sedentary-related leisure activities were examined: reading newspapers/books, playing cards/mah-jongg, and watching TV/listening to the radio. Multinomial logistic regression models were conducted overall and separately for rural and urban populations. Among 26,558 participants aged ≥ 65 years, 54.3% lived in rural areas. Watching TV/listening to the radio was the most common activity, with 52.3% reporting daily participation, whereas most participants engaged in reading (85.6%) and mah-jongg/card playing (89.6%) monthly or less. Compared with rural participants, urban older adults were more likely to engage in frequent reading (daily: OR = 2.49, 95% CI: 2.24–2.78) and TV/radio activities (daily: OR = 1.56, 95% CI: 1.46–1.66). Higher education, regular exercise, and greater life satisfaction were consistently associated with more frequent participation across activities. Stratified analyses also revealed generally similar associations across rural and urban older adults, with some variation in the magnitude and statistical significance of selected associations. Significant rural – urban disparities in the frequency of sedentary-related leisure activities were observed among Chinese older adults from 2008 to 2018. Future studies should use more detailed assessments of sedentary-related activities to better understand their potential implications for older adults’ quality of life and healthy aging.