Associations between sedentary behavior and allostatic load: The 1970 British Cohort Study

Area of Science:

• Physiology
• Public Health
• Epidemiology

Background:

• Chronic psychological stress elevates allostatic load (AL), a state of multisystem dysregulation, increasing cardiometabolic disease (CMD) risk.
• Moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) is linked to lower AL, but the relationship with sedentary behavior (SB) is less understood.
• This study investigates the association between various SB metrics and AL in middle-aged adults.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the relationship between different measures of sedentary behavior (SB) and allostatic load (AL).
• To determine if total SB time, SB breaks, or SB bout duration are associated with higher AL.
• To inform potential public health strategies for mitigating stress-related CMD risk.

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from 8581 participants (mean age 46.8 years, 52% female) from the 1970 British Cohort Study.
• Assessed SB using activPAL3 accelerometry, measuring total SB time, SB break rate, and mean SB bout duration.
• Measured seven AL biomarkers (inflammatory, cardiovascular, metabolic) and defined high AL as ≥2 biomarkers in the highest-risk quartile. Logistic regression adjusted for MVPA and covariates.

Main Results:

• Each additional hour of total SB per day was associated with a 5% increase in the odds of high AL (OR=1.05).
• Each additional SB break per hour was associated with a 3% decrease in the odds of high AL (OR=0.97).
• Mean SB bout duration showed no significant association with AL after full adjustment.

Conclusions:

• Increased total sedentary time and reduced frequency of breaks during sedentary periods are linked to higher allostatic load.
• Findings suggest that reducing overall sedentary time and increasing interruptions to sedentary behavior may be viable strategies.
• Further longitudinal and experimental research is needed to confirm causality and clinical implications for mitigating stress-induced CMD risk.