Arterial stiffness and the reallocation of time between device-measured 24-hour movement behaviours: A compositional...

Arterial stiffness predicts cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. We aimed to quantify the differences in arterial stiffness associated with reallocating time between 24-h movement behaviours.

This observational cross-sectional study included Luxembourg residents aged 25-79y who each provided ≥4 valid days of triaxial accelerometry (n = 1001). Covariable adjusted compositional isotemporal substitution models were used to examine if theoretical reallocations of time between device-measured sedentariness, the sleep period, light physical activity (PA), and moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) were associated with the percentage difference in carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV). We further investigated if replacing sedentary time accumulated in prolonged (≥30 min) with non-prolonged (<30 min) bouts was associated with arterial stiffness. The results are presented as 30 min time exchanges (β (95% confidence interval)).

Beneficial associations with lower cfPWV were observed when reallocating time to MVPA from the sleep period (-1.38 (-2.63 to -0.12) %), sedentary time (-1.70 (-2.76 to -0.62) %), and light PA (-2.51 (-4.55 to -0.43) %), respectively. Larger associations in the opposite direction were observed when reallocating MVPA to the same behaviours (for example, replacing MVPA with sedentary time: 2.50 (0.85-4.18) %). Replacing prolonged with non-prolonged sedentary time was not associated with cfPWV (-0.27 (-0.86 to 0.32) %). In short sleepers, reallocating sedentary time to the sleep period was favourable (-1.96 (-3.74 to -0.15) %).

Increasing or at least maintaining MVPA appears to be important for arterial health in adults. Extending sleep in habitually short sleepers, specifically by redistributing sedentary time, may also be important.