The cross-sectional associations between objectively measured sedentary time and cardiometabolic health markers in adults - a systematic review with meta-analysis component.

Sedentary time is viewed as an independent risk factor for adverse cardiometabolic health (CMH). No systematic review and meta-analysis on the cross-sectional associations between objectively measured sedentary time and CMH markers has been conducted. PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science Core Collection were searched for papers that examined the cross-sectional association between objectively measured sedentary time and CMH markers in adults. Forty-six papers met the inclusion criteria. The included papers had a combined sample size of 70,576 and an age range of 18-87 years. To examine the effect of increased levels of sedentary time on CMH markers, data on effect sizes and moderators were extracted, where possible. By pooling the unadjusted data from the included papers, increased sedentary time was shown to have a significant detrimental association with fasting glucose (Δ = 0.12, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.02, 0.23), fasting insulin (Δ = 0.19, 95% CI: 0.06, 0.32), triglycerides (Δ = 0.25, 95% CI: 0.14, 0.37), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (Δ = -0.20, 95% CI: -0.28, -0.13) and waist circumference (Δ = 0.25, 95% CI: 0.15, 0.35). How sedentary time was quantified and the device used to measure sedentary time significantly influence the size of the effect reported. Future interventions focused on both decreasing sedentary time and increasing physical activity may be the most effective strategy to improve CMH.