Prolonged sitting time links to subclinical atherosclerosis

• Published in: Journal of the Chinese Medical Association 2022-01, Vol.85 (1), p.51-58
• Main Authors: Lim, Su Shen, Huang, Chin-Chou, Hsu, Pai-Feng, Lin, Chung-Chi, Wang, Yuan-Jen, Ding, Yaw-Zon, Liou, Teh-Ling, Wang, Ying-Wen, Huang, Shao-Sung, Lu, Tse-Min, Chen, Jaw-Wen, Chan, Wan-Leong, Lin, Shing-Jong, Leu, Hsin-Bang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aged; Coronary Artery Disease; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Plaque, Atherosclerotic - epidemiology; Plaque, Atherosclerotic - physiopathology; Sitting Position; Surveys and Questionnaires; Taiwan - epidemiology; Tomography, X-Ray Computed
• ISSN: 1726-4901; 1728-7731
• DOI: 10.1097/JCMA.0000000000000672

This study investigates the association between daily sitting time and subclinical atherosclerosis by using coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA). The study enrolled 203 subjects (age 57.6 ± 8.8 years) who underwent CCTA at annual medical checkups. Sitting time was categorized as < 5 hours/day (short), 5 to 9 hours/day (moderate) and ≥10 hours/d (long). We analyzed the coronary calcium score, plaque characteristics, and severity of coronary artery stenosis, including the segment involvement score (SIS) and segment stenosis score (SSS). Subjects with longer sitting times tended to be male gender and have lower levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (p for trend < 0.05). In addition, those with longer sitting time had higher SIS (1.2 ± 1.5 vs. 1.6 ± 2.1 vs. 2.3 ± 2.0 for short, moderate, and long sitting time, respectively) (p for trend = 0.015) and SSS (1.4 ± 2.0 vs. 1.9 ± 2.7 vs. 2.7 ± 2.6) (p for trend = 0.015), suggesting longer sitting time-correlated with the severity of coronary atherosclerosis. When considering the coronary plaque patterns, subjects with shorter sitting time (