Sedentary Behavior in the Workplace: A Potential Occupational Hazard for Radiologists

Area of Science:

• Medical imaging and radiology
• Occupational health
• Public health

Background:

• Sedentary worklife is a growing concern in many professions.
• Radiologists' work involves prolonged sitting, raising potential health risks.
• Understanding activity levels is crucial for developing interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantify the sedentary worklife of radiologists.
• To compare the physical activity levels of radiology residents with those in pediatrics and internal medicine.
• To assess the awareness and utilization of dynamic Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS) workstations among radiology residents.

Main Methods:

• Survey of radiologists (n=89) to estimate sitting time.
• Activity monitoring using Fitbit One devices for radiology, pediatric, and internal medicine residents (n=27).
• Correlation analysis of awareness and utilization of dynamic PACS workstations.

Main Results:

• 78% of surveyed radiologists estimated sitting for at least 6 hours daily.
• Radiology residents exhibited lower daily steps and higher sedentary time per hour compared to pediatric and IM residents.
• Awareness and utilization of dynamic PACS workstations were generally low among radiology residents (75% rarely/never used them), but utilization correlated with awareness (R²=0.64).

Conclusions:

• Radiology residents lead more sedentary worklives than residents in other specialties.
• There is a significant underutilization of available tools to mitigate workplace inactivity.
• Addressing sedentary behavior in radiology is essential due to potential health risks.