Objectively Measured Total Sedentary Time and Pattern of Sedentary Accumulation in Older Adults: Associations With Incident Cardiovascular Disease and All-Cause Mortality

Abstract

Background We examined associations of total duration and pattern of accumulation of objectively-measured sedentary behaviour (SB) with incident cardiovascular disease (CVD) and all-cause mortality among older adults. Methods Total sedentary time and eight sedentary accumulation pattern metrics were extracted from accelerometer data of 3991 Whitehall II study participants aged 60-83 years in 2012-2013. Incident CVD and all-cause mortality were ascertained up to March 2019. Results 299 CVD cases and 260 deaths were recorded over a mean (standard deviation) follow-up of 6.2 (1.3) and 6.4 (0.8) years, respectively. Adjusting for sociodemographic and behavioural factors, 1-SD (100.2 minutes) increase in total sedentary time was associated with 20% higher CVD risk (Hazard Ratio (95% confidence interval): 1.20 (1.05-1.37)). More fragmented SB was associated with reduced CVD risk (e.g. 0.86 (0.76-0.97) for 1-SD (6.2) increase in breaks per sedentary hour). Associations were not evident once health-related factors and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) were considered. For all-cause mortality, associations with more fragmented SB (e.g. 0.73 (0.59-0.91) for breaks per sedentary hour) were found only among the youngest older group (<74 years; p for interaction with age<0.01) independently from all covariates. Conclusions In this study, no associations of total sedentary time and sedentary accumulation patterns with incident CVD and all-cause mortality were found in the total sample once MVPA was considered. Our findings of reduced mortality risk with less total and more fragmented SB independent from MVPA among individuals <74 years need to be replicated to support the recent recommendations to reduce and fragment SB.

Prospective Associations of Accelerometer‐Measured Machine‐Learned Sedentary Behavior With Death Among Older Women: The OPACH Study

“… 3 In the Whitehall II study, incident CVD risk was not higher with higher total sedentary time (HR, 1.02 [95% CI, 0.88–1.19]) and longer MSBD (HR, 1.09 [95% CI, 0.98–1.23]) after adjusting for MVPA. 34 Differences between the present study findings and those in the literature could be attributable to differences in study population, devices used, placement, wear interval duration, and method of classifying SB.…”

Sedentary Behavior and Phase Angle: An Objective Assessment in Physically Active and Inactive Older Adults

“…Both oxidative stress and inflammation can damage cellular structures and impair cellular functions, resulting in variations in PhA values [ 43 ]. Although previous studies have identified a relationship between SB patterns and outcomes, such as mortality [ 44 ] and physical function [ 45 ], in older populations, this study found no significant statistical relationship between SB patterns and PhA. Thus, despite the potential for speculation based on these pieces of evidence, the exact underlying physiological mechanisms remain unclear.…”

Sedentary Behavior and Incident Dementia Among Older Adults

“…The reference value was set at the median to ensure that the results were less sensitive to potential outliers or extreme values in the exposure distribution. Because total sedentary behavior is highly correlated with patterns of sedentary behavior accumulation, the sedentary behavior variables were analyzed in separate models for the secondary analyses . In addition, an analysis was included that used quartiles of sedentary behavior as an exposure.…”