Long hours of sitting increase mortality, cardiovascular diseases: study

A joint global study has found that long sitting time is associated with increased risks of all-cause mortality and major cardiovascular diseases.

The association of sitting hours with mortality and cardiovascular events was more pronounced in low-income and lower-middle-income countries, according to the findings published in The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Cardiology.

Researchers from the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Simon Fraser University in Canada conducted this cohort study comprising more than 100,000 participants aged 35 to 70 years from 21 countries, with a median follow-up of 11.1 years.

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The results found that the risks of mortality and major cardiovascular diseases, including myocardial infarction, stroke and heart failure, among participants who sat for six to eight hours per day increased by 12 per cent to 13 per cent, compared with those who sat for less than four hours a day.

People who sat for more than eight hours witnessed a 20-per cent increase in risks.

According to the study, decreasing sedentary time along with increasing physical activity will likely be an important strategy for reducing risks of premature deaths and cardiovascular diseases.