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Updated: Jan 29, 2026

A Human Ex Vivo Atherosclerotic Plaque Model to Study Lesion Biology
Published on: May 6, 2014
The impact of sedentary behavior patterns on carotid atherosclerotic burden: Implications from the Corinthia
George Lazaros1, Evangelos Oikonomou1, Georgia Vogiatzi1
11(st) Cardiology Clinic, 'Hippokration' General Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, School of Medicine, Athens, Greece.
Background And Aims:
Sedentary lifestyle, unlike leisure time physical activity (PA), is associated with atherosclerosis progression. Regarding the interrelationship between television watching, as a sedentary behavior pattern, and cardiovascular disease burden, few data exist.
Methods:
In this cross-sectional epidemiological study based on 2043 inhabitants of the Corinthia region, in Greece, ultrasonography was used to measure carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) in both carotid arteries. The average (meanIMT) and maximum thickness (maxIMT) were determined as representative values of subclinical atherosclerosis. We evaluated PA using the self-reported International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). Based on specific questions, the average hours per week spent on watching television (TV), videos or DVD was calculated for each participant.
Results:
According to TV viewing time, subjects were categorized into the low (≤7 h/week), moderate (7˃ TV hours/week ≤21) and high (˃21 h/week) TV viewing time groups. Prevalence of carotid atheromatic plaque was lower in the low TV viewing time group compared to the moderate and high TV viewing time groups (p = 0.02). TV viewing time was associated with increased carotid IMT (p = 0.03) and the prevalence of carotid atheromatic plaque (p = 0.02), even after adjustment for age, body mass index, cardiovascular risk factors or history of cardiovascular disease. Subjects in the high TV viewing time group have 80% increase odds of carotid atheromatic plaque compared to patients categorized in the low TV viewing time group (p = 0.01).
Conclusions:
The present findings have important public health implications, providing a better understanding of the components of sedentary behavior that are associated with atherosclerotic progression.
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