The 24-h activity cycle and cardiovascular outcomes: establishing biological plausibility using arterial stiffness as an intermediate outcome

Adherence to 24-hour movement guidelines in adolescence and its association with lower risk of hypertension in adulthood

BACKGROUND

There is limited research on how adherence to 24 h movement guidelines from adolescence to adulthood affects long-term hypertension outcomes. This study examined the association between sustained adherence to these guidelines and hypertension risk.

METHODS

Analysis was done on data from adolescents 12- to 19-year-olds who took part in Waves I and V of the Add Health Study. Physical activity (PA), screen time, and sleep duration were assessed through self-report questionnaires. Blood pressure (BP) was assessed on the right arm following a 5 min seated rest, utilizing an oscillometric device, and hypertension was defined as systolic/diastolic BP ≥ 140/90 mmHg, physician-diagnosed hypertension, or current antihypertensive medication use.

RESULTS

This prospective study included a total of 3076 participants (60.3% female), and 802 were diagnosed with hypertension. Meeting sleep duration guidelines at Wave I was associated with reductions in systolic [- 0.568 mmHg, 95% bias-corrected and accelerated (BCa) confident interval (CI) - 2.128 to - 0.011, P = 0.044] and diastolic (- 0.331 mmHg, 95% BCa CI - 1.506 to - 0.071, P = 0.043) BP at Wave V. Adherence to PA and sleep duration guidelines at both waves further reduced BP, with the greatest decreases observed among participants meeting all three guidelines: systolic (- 6.184 mmHg, 95% BCa CI - 13.45 to - 0.915, P = 0.040) and diastolic BP (- 3.156 mmHg, 95% BCa CI - 6.413 to - 0.120, P = 0.047). The risk of hypertension was lower among those who met the PA guidelines individually [relative risk (RR) 0.710, 95% CI 0.516-0.976, P = 0.035] or adhered to all three recommendations (RR 0.699, 95% CI 0.311-0.899, P = 0.030) in both waves.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings highlight the cardiovascular benefits of consistently adhering to healthy movement behaviors from adolescence through adulthood.

Associations of nonoccupational sedentary behaviors with cardiometabolic outcomes: coronary artery risk development in young adults (CARDIA)

BACKGROUND

The association between sedentary behavior (SB) and cardiometabolic risk may differ by SB domain and context. Nonoccupational SB is particularly important because it is discretionary and more amenable to change. This study estimated associations of nonoccupational SB contexts with hypertension (HTN) and diabetes mellitus (DM).

METHODS

A total of 3370 middle-aged adults (50.1 ± 3.6 years; 56% F) from the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study were included. Cross-sectional and 5-year prospective associations between self-report total SB and 6 context-specific SBs (television-TV, computer, transportation, phone, music, and paperwork) with HTN and DM were tested using logistic regression. Fully adjusted models controlled for sociodemographic variables, body mass index, and self-report moderate-vigorous intensity physical activity.

RESULTS

Prevalences of HTN and DM at baseline were 48% (1618 cases) and 10% (320 cases), respectively. Each hour per day of total-SB was cross-sectionally associated with HTN (OR: 1.03, 95% CI, 1.01-1.05) but not DM, with nonsignificant prospective associations for HTN and DM. Of the context-specific SBs, only TV-SB was significantly associated with HTN or DM. Each hour of TV-SB was cross-sectionally associated with HTN (OR: 1.09, 95% CI, 1.03-1.15) and DM (OR: 1.18, 95% CI, 1.09-1.29), and prospectively with HTN (OR: 1.14, 95% CI, 1.04-1.26) but not DM.

CONCLUSION

When comparing total-SB and the 6 context-specific SBs, TV-SB was most robustly associated with HTN. The findings were less clear for DM. Behavior change strategies that target TV-SB reduction may be effective at reducing HTN risk in middle-aged adults.

The effect of cardiorespiratory fitness and habitual physical activity on cardiovascular responses to 2 h of uninterrupted sitting

Prolonged uninterrupted sitting of >3 h has been shown to acutely cause central and peripheral cardiovascular dysfunction. However, individuals rarely sit uninterrupted for >2 h, and the cardiovascular response to this time is currently unknown. In addition, while increased cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and habitual physical activity (HPA) are independently associated with improvements in central and peripheral cardiovascular function, it remains unclear whether they influence the response to uninterrupted sitting. This study sought to 1) determine whether 2 h of uninterrupted sitting acutely impairs carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV), femoral ankle PWV (faPWV), and central and peripheral blood pressure and 2) investigate the associations between CRF and HPA versus PWV changes during uninterrupted sitting. Following 2 h of uninterrupted sitting, faPWV significantly increased [mean difference (MD) = 0.26 m·s-1, standard error (SE) = 0.10, P = 0.013] as did diastolic blood pressure (MD = 2.83 mmHg, SE = 1.08, P = 0.014), however, cfPWV did not significantly change. Although our study shows 2 h of uninterrupted sitting significantly impairs faPWV, neither CRF (r = 0.105, P = 0.595) nor HPA (r = -0.228, P = 0.253) was associated with the increases.NEW & NOTEWORTHY We demonstrate that neither cardiorespiratory fitness nor habitual physical activity influence central and peripheral cardiovascular responses to a 2-h bout of uninterrupted sitting in healthy young adults.

Exercise for chronic kidney disease: effects on vascular and cardiopulmonary function

Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) have an exacerbated prevalence of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Vascular dysfunction, characterized by impaired endothelial function and arterial stiffness, and markedly low cardiorespiratory fitness levels are hallmark manifestations of the disease that contribute to the CVD burden. Despite advancements in blood pressure and lipid lowering pharmacological therapies, CVD remains markedly prevalent across the spectrum of CKD. This highlights a stagnation in effective clinical strategies to improve cardiovascular health and reinforces the critical need for adjuvant lifestyle strategies such as physical activity and exercise training to be incorporated into routine clinical care. This narrative review provides an overview of the known effects of exercise on vascular and cardiopulmonary function across the spectrum of CKD. The physiological mechanisms of vascular dysfunction that serve as exercise-specific therapeutic targets are highlighted and future perspectives are discussed.