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Isotemporal Associations of Device-Measured Sedentary Time and Physical Activity with Cardiac-Autonomic Regulation in Previously Pregnant Women

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Abstract

Background

High sedentary time (ST) and low physical activity may increase cardiovascular risk, potentially though cardiac-autonomic dysregulation. This study investigated associations of statistically exchanging device-measured ST and physical activity with measures of cardiac-autonomic regulation in previously pregnant women.

Method

This cross-sectional, secondary analysis included 286 women (age = 32.6 ± 5.7 years; 68% white) measured 7–15 years after delivery. ST and light (LPA), moderate (MPA), vigorous (VPA), and moderate-to-vigorous (MVPA) intensity physical activity were measured by ActiGraph GT3X. ST was further partitioned into long (≥ 30 min) and short (< 30 min) bouts. MVPA was also partitioned into long (≥ 10 min) and short (< 10 min) bouts. Cardiac-autonomic regulation was assessed by heart rate variability (HRV) (resting heart rate, natural log transformed standard deviation of normal R-R intervals [lnSDNN], natural log-transformed root mean square of successive differences [lnRMSSD]) from a 5-min seated ECG. Progressive isotemporal substitution models adjusted for confounders. Sensitivity analyses removed women with related underlying medical conditions and who did not meet respiration rate criteria.

Results

Initial analyses found no significant associations with HRV when exchanging 30 min of ST and physical activity (p > 0.05). Yet, replacing long- and short-bout ST with 30 min of long-bout MVPA yielded significantly higher (healthier) lnRMSSD (B = 0.063 ± 0.030 and B = 0.056 ± 0.027, respectively; both p < 0.05). Sensitivity analyses strengthened these associations and yielded further associations of higher lnSDNN and lnRMSSD when replacing 30 min of short-bout MVPA with equivalent amounts of long-bout MVPA (B = 0.074 ± 0.037 and B = 0.091 ± 0.046, respectively).

Conclusion

Replacing ST with long-bout MVPA is a potential strategy to improve cardiac-autonomic function in previously pregnant women.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Samantha Bryan for her help in managing the data and providing guidance on analysis. The results of the study are presented clearly, honestly, and without fabrication, falsification, or inappropriate data manipulation.

Funding

This POUCHmoms Study was supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (R01-HL103825). The POUCH Study was supported by the Perinatal Epidemiological Research Initiative Program Grant from the March of Dimes Foundation (20FY01-38 and 20FY04-37), the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute for Child Health and Human Development and the National Institute of Nursing Research (R01-HD34543), the Thrasher Research Foundation (02816–7), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U01-DP000143-01).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Exercise Physiology, College of Sport Sciences and Physical Activity, King Saud University, King Khalid Rd, B69-G1 Building, Riyadh, 80200, Saudi Arabia

    Abdullah Bandar Alansare

  2. Department of Health and Human Development, School of Education, University of Pittsburgh, 140 Trees Hall, Pittsburgh, PA, 15261, USA

    Bethany Barone Gibbs, Christopher E. Kline & Elizabeth Nagle

  3. Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA

    Claudia Holzman

  4. Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, 15219, USA

    J. Richard Jennings

  5. Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, 300 Halket St, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA

    Janet M. Catov

  6. Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia, USA

    Bethany Barone Gibbs

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  1. Abdullah Bandar Alansare
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Correspondence to Abdullah Bandar Alansare.

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Alansare, A.B., Gibbs, B.B., Holzman, C. et al. Isotemporal Associations of Device-Measured Sedentary Time and Physical Activity with Cardiac-Autonomic Regulation in Previously Pregnant Women. Int.J. Behav. Med. 30, 497–508 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12529-022-10113-6

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