Standing More During the Day Does Not Cut Cardiovascular Risk

FRIDAY, Oct. 18, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- Standing more does not improve cardiovascular health and may increase the risk for circulatory issues, according to a study published online Oct. 16 in the International Journal of Epidemiology.

Matthew N. Ahmadi, from University of Sydney in Australia, and colleagues examined associations of daily sitting, standing, and stationary time with cardiovascular disease (CVD) and orthostatic circulatory disease incidence. The analysis included accelerometer data from 83 ,013 adults participating in the U.K. Biobank.

The researchers found that during 6.9 years of follow-up, when stationary time exceeded 12 hours/day, orthostatic circulatory disease risk was higher (average hazard ratio, 0.22 per hour). Higher risk was also seen for sitting more than 10 hours per day (0.26 per every additional hour). For every additional 30 minutes/day of standing more than two hours/day, there was a 0.11 higher risk. When stationary time exceeded 12 hours/day, major CVD risk was higher by an average of 0.13 per hour. Each extra hour of sitting time was associated with a 0.15 higher risk. There was no association for time spent standing and major CVD risk.

“The key takeaway is that standing for too long will not offset an otherwise sedentary lifestyle and could be risky for some people in terms of circulatory health,” Ahmadi said in a statement. 

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