Sedentary time and blood pressure in Australian toddlers: The get-up study longitudinal results

ABSTRACT

Epidemiological data suggests that the genesis of cardiovascular disease occurs during childhood. Sedentary time (ST) is a main driver of high blood pressure (BP) in adolescents and adults. However, associations between ST and cardiovascular health in young children are uncertain. Prospective associations between ST and BP were assessed among 172 toddlers (88 boys), aged 19.5 ± 3.9 months at baseline, recruited from the GET‐UP! Study, Australia and followed over a 12-month period. BP was measured with a digital monitor and z-scores were computed by age and sex for systolic and diastolic BP. Total ST was measured over 7 days using Actigraph accelerometers and expressed over a 24-h period. Multilevel linear regression models were used to assess regression coefficients and standard errors, predicting BP at follow-up from ST at baseline. Analyses controlled for socio-economic status, height, age, gender, group (intervention or control) and zWC at baseline. Adjusted analyses showed that total ST did not predict systolic or diastolic BP (β = 0.0009, p = 0.368 and β = 0.002, p = 0.05, respectively). Most likely, longer follow-up periods might be needed to confirm or rule out our results, as the effects of cumulative ST over time on BP values are prone to manifest later in life and track into adolescence and adulthood.

KEYWORDS:

• Sedentary behaviour
• hypertension
• children
• cardiovascular health

Disclosure statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Financial disclosure

The authors have no financial relationships relevant to this article to disclose.

Contributors’ statement page

Sousa-Sá collected data drafted the initial manuscript, analyzed and interpreted data, reviewed and revised the manuscript.

Zhang, Pereira and Veldman collected data, revised the manuscript critically for important intellectual content and gave final approval of the version to be submitted.

Dr Ruiz contributed to the interpretation of data, revised the manuscript critically for important intellectual content and gave final approval of the version to be submitted.

Dr Okely contributed to the study design and interpretation of data, revised the manuscript critically for important intellectual content and gave final approval of the version to be submitted.

Dr Santos substantially contributed to the study design, data collection, analysis and interpretation of data; revised the manuscript critically for important intellectual content and gave final approval of the version to be submitted.

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2020.1812836

Additional information

Funding

No funding was secured for this study.