Device-Measured 24-Hour Movement Behaviors and Blood Pressure: A 6-Part Compositional Individual Participant Data...

Area of Science:

• Cardiovascular Health
• Exercise Physiology
• Public Health

Background:

• Structured exercise is known to lower blood pressure (BP).
• The impact of 24-hour movement behaviors in free-living conditions on BP is less understood.
• This study examines the relationship between the composition of daily activities and BP levels.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the associations between a 24-hour behavior composition and systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP).
• To determine the potential BP reductions achievable through reallocating time between different daily activities.

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from 14,761 participants across 6 cohorts in the Prospective Physical Activity, Sitting and Sleep (ProPASS) consortium.
• Employed compositional data analysis on data from thigh-worn accelerometers and BP measurements.
• Examined estimated BP reductions via behavioral replacement using reallocation plots.

Main Results:

• Higher time spent exercising or sleeping, relative to other behaviors, was associated with lower BP.
• An additional 5 minutes of exercise-like activity correlated with estimated SBP reductions of -0.68 mm Hg and DBP reductions of -0.54 mm Hg.
• Clinically meaningful BP improvements were estimated with 10-27 minutes of time reallocation into exercise; sedentary behavior showed adverse associations.

Conclusions:

• Findings underscore the significance of exercise for blood pressure management.
• Even small increases in exercise duration in free-living settings are associated with reduced BP.
• Reallocating time from sedentary behavior to exercise offers a viable strategy for BP control.