The association between objectively-measured sedentary behavior patterns and predicted 10-year ASCVD risk

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Epidemiology
• Cardiology

Background:

• Sedentary behavior (SB) is a growing public health concern.
• Understanding the relationship between SB accumulation patterns and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) risk is crucial for targeted interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between sedentary behavior (SB) and predicted 10-year ASCVD risk.
• To determine if these associations differ based on how SB is accumulated in US middle-aged and older adults.

Main Methods:

• Utilized cross-sectional data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2003-2006.
• Assessed SB patterns using 7-day accelerometer data, categorizing total SB and bouts (1-9, 10-29, 30-59, ≥60 min).
• Calculated predicted 10-year ASCVD risk using validated pooled cohort equations and employed linear regression for analysis.

Main Results:

• Significant linear associations were found between total SB and longer accumulated SB patterns with higher predicted 10-year ASCVD risk.
• A 30-minute daily increase in total SB was associated with a 0.14% higher ASCVD risk.
• Longer SB bout durations (30-59 min, ≥60 min) showed associations of 0.23% and 0.12% higher ASCVD risk, respectively, independent of covariates.

Conclusions:

• Total sedentary time and prolonged sedentary bouts are independently associated with increased predicted 10-year ASCVD risk.
• Reducing overall sedentary time and interrupting long durations of sitting may be beneficial for public health guidelines.
• These findings highlight the importance of both reducing sedentary time and breaking up prolonged sitting for cardiovascular health.