In older women, both high sedentary time and long mean bout durations were associated in a dose-response manner with increased cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk, a new study found. Women from the Objective Physical Activity and Cardiovascular Health (OPACH) study (n=5,638, aged 63‒97 years) with no history of myocardial infarction (MI) or stroke wore accelerometers for 4 to 7 days and were followed up for up to 4.9 years for CVD events. Researchers found:

• There were 545 CVD events during 19,350 person-years.
• Women with the highest vs lowest quartile of sedentary time had higher risk for CVD (HR, 1.62), after adjustment for covariates.
• Longer vs shorter mean sedentary bout duration was associated with higher risk for CVD (HR, 1.54), after adjustment for covariates.
• Women jointly classified as having both high sedentary time and long bout duration had significantly higher risk for CVD (HR, 1.34) vs women with low sedentary time and short bout duration.