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Sedentary behavior is associated with reduced cardiovagal baroreflex sensitivity in healthy adults

Hypertension Research volume 45, pages 1193–1202 (2022)Cite this article

Abstract

Sedentary behavior is an established risk factor for cardiovascular disease; however, it remains unclear whether sedentary behavior is associated with the deterioration of arterial blood pressure regulation. The purpose of this study was to determine the association between the time spent in sedentary behavior and cardiovagal baroreflex sensitivity (cBRS) in healthy adults. We investigated the cross-sectional relationship between sedentary time and cBRS in 179 adults aged 22–81 years. Sedentary time was objectively measured using a triaxial accelerometer. cBRS was evaluated by the transfer function gain of beat-by-beat changes in systolic blood pressure and the R-R interval during 5 min of spontaneous resting. Glycemic, lipidemic, and vascular risk factors were measured as potential covariates of cBRS and sedentary behavior. Men had a longer sedentary time and lower cBRS than women (p = 0.001). In a simple correlation analysis, older age was negatively associated with cBRS and positively associated with sedentary time, but sedentary time was not correlated with cBRS. However, after adjustment for age and sex, a longer sedentary time was associated with a lower cBRS. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that sedentary time was independently associated with lower cBRS with adjustment for covariates (β = −0.325, p = 0.002). A significant association was also confirmed when the analysis was performed separately in the younger and older groups. This finding suggests that high sedentary behavior may have an adverse effect on arterial blood pressure regulation.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported in part by the members of Seiji Maeda’s laboratory. The authors thank Ms. Michiru Hotta for her technical assistance.

Funding

This work was supported in part by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (KAKENHI) from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology, Japan (Grant number 19H03995). Shoya Mori was a recipient of a Grant-in-Aid for JSPS Fellows (Grant number 21J10952).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan

    Shoya Mori, Masahiro Matsui, Kanako Takahashi & Masaki Yoshioka

  2. Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Tokyo, Japan

    Shoya Mori, Masahiro Matsui & Masaki Yoshioka

  3. Faculty of Health and Sport Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan

    Keisei Kosaki, Takashi Tarumi, Jun Sugawara, Ai Shibata & Seiji Maeda

  4. Human Informatics Research Institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Ibaraki, Japan

    Takashi Tarumi & Jun Sugawara

  5. Institute for Exercise and Environmental Medicine, Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas, Texas, USA

    Takashi Tarumi

  6. Division of Anti-aging Medicine, Center for Molecular Medicine, Jichi Medical University, Tochigi, Japan

    Makoto Kuro-O

  7. Department of Nephrology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan

    Chie Saito & Kunihiro Yamagata

  8. R&D Center for Smart Wellness City Policies, University of Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan

    Kunihiro Yamagata

  9. Faculty of Sport Sciences, Waseda University, Saitama, Japan

    Koichiro Oka & Seiji Maeda

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Correspondence to Seiji Maeda.

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Mori, S., Kosaki, K., Matsui, M. et al. Sedentary behavior is associated with reduced cardiovagal baroreflex sensitivity in healthy adults. Hypertens Res 45, 1193–1202 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41440-022-00904-5

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