Heart damage in young adulthood linked with sedentary time in children

Hours of inactivity during childhood could be setting the stage for heart attacks and strokes later in life, according to research presented at ESC Congress 2023.1 The study found that sedentary time accumulated from childhood to young adulthood was associated with heart damage – even in those with normal weight and blood pressure.

The researchers analyzed the association between sedentary time between 11 and 24 years of age and heart measurements between 17 and 24 years of age after adjusting for factors that could influence the relationship including age, sex, blood pressure, body fat, smoking, physical activity and socioeconomic status.

The study included 766 children, of whom 55% were girls and 45% were boys. At 11 years of age, children were sedentary for an average of 362 minutes a day, rising to 474 minutes a day in adolescence , and 531 minutes a day in young adulthood. This means that sedentary time increased by an average of 169 minutes a day between childhood and young adulthood.

Each one-minute increase in sedentary time from 11 to 24 years of age was associated with a 0.004 g/m^2.7 increase in left ventricular mass between 17 to 24 years of age. When multiplied by 169 minutes of additional inactivity this equates to a 0.7 g/m^2.7 daily rise – the equivalent of a 3 gram increase in left ventricular mass between echocardiography measurements at the average height gain.

Reference: Dr. Andrew Agbaje et al, European Society Of Cardiology