Minimal TV Viewing May Cut ASCVD Risk in Those With T2DM Genetic Risk

Mar 13, 2025

WEDNESDAY, March 12, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Medium and high type 2 diabetes (T2D) genetic risks are not associated with an increased risk for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) when television viewing is no more than one hour a day, according to a study published online March 12 in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

Mengyao Wang, Ph.D., from The University of Hong Kong Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, and colleagues examined the interaction between watching television and T2D genetic risk for ASCVD in a study involving 346,916 White British individuals from the U.K. Biobank. Based on 138 genetic variants associated with T2D, a weighted polygenic risk score was calculated for T2D. Time spent watching television was self-reported and categorized as no more than one hour/day and two or more hours/day. A total of 21,265 incident ASCVD events were identified during a median follow-up of 13.8 years.

The researchers found that watching television for two or more hours/day was associated with a 12 percent increased risk for ASCVD compared with no more than one hour/day, independent of T2D genetic risk. As long as television viewing was no more than one hour/day, medium and high T2D genetic risk was not associated with higher risks for ASCVD. For multiplicative and additive interactions between T2D genetic risk and television viewing, the P values were 0.050 and 0.038, respectively. The 10-year absolute ASCVD risk was lower for high T2D genetic risk plus no more than one hour/day television viewing versus low T2D genetic risk plus two or more hours/day television viewing (2.13 versus 2.46 percent).

“We found that people with high genetic risk for type 2 diabetes may exhibit lower chances of developing atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease by limiting TV watching to one hour or less each day,” Wang said in a statement. “This suggests that less TV viewing could serve as a key behavioral target for preventing atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases linked to type 2 diabetes genetics.”

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