Associations Of Accelerometry-assessed Physical Activity And Sedentary Behavior With Cardiovascular Disease: Findings From HCHS/SOL

PURPOSE: Engagement in physical activity (PA) and less time in sedentary behavior (SB) have been associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), but less is known about these relationships among Hispanic/Latino adults in the United States (US). We examined the associations of accelerometry-assessed PA and SB with the risk of CVD among 11,160 adults in the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL), a population-based cohort of adults from four US metropolitan cities. METHODS: PA and SB were collected using the hip-worn Actical accelerometer at baseline (2008-2011) and CVD events were ascertained from medical records through 2019. We examined minutes spent in SB, light intensity physical activity (LIPA), moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), and average counts per minute (CPM) with the risk of myocardial infarction (MI), stroke, and heart failure (HF) and a composite CVD outcome (comprised of MI, stroke, and HF). Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate associations of PA and SB metrics with the risk of CVD events as hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Models were adjusted for demographics and health behaviors and accounted for the HCHS/SOL complex survey design. RESULTS: The average age at baseline was 41 years, 53% were female, 38% were of Mexican heritage, and 52% were employed. On average, adults wore the accelerometer for 16 hours/day and spent an average of 25 and 701 minutes/day in MVPA and SB. There were 207 CVD events (85 MI, 63 stroke, and 89 HF cases) over an average of 9.7 years of follow-up (range 1.0 to 11.8 years). There were inverse associations of minutes spent in MVPA and average CPM with composite CVD, but 95% CIs included the null (per 10 min of MVPA HR = 0.93 (0.85, 1.01), per 60 CPM HR = 0.94 (0.86, 1.03)), and null associations with minutes spent in LIPA (per 60 minutes HR = 0.99 (0.86, 1.15)) and SB (per 60 minutes HR = 1.04 (0.92, 1.17)). Similar nonsignificant inverse associations for minutes spent in MVPA and average CPM with the risk of MI, stroke, and HF were observed. CONCLUSIONS: There were nonsignificant inverse associations of accelerometry-assessed MVPA and average CPM with the risk of CVD among Hispanic/Latino adults from four US metropolitan areas.