Longitudinal Associations between 24-H Movement Behaviors and Cardiometabolic Biomarkers: A Natural Experiment over Retirement - Centre for Population Health Research (POPC) - A joint centre by the University of Turku and the municipal authority of the Hospital District of Southwest Finland. The goal of Centre for Population Health Research is to promote health and well-being of society by enhancing research and development work on clinical-epidemiological population research.

Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2024 Feb 29. doi: 10.1249/MSS.0000000000003415. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Physical activity, sedentary behavior and sleep, that is, 24-h movement behaviors, often change in the transition from work to retirement, which may affect cardiometabolic health. This study investigates the longitudinal associations between changes in 24-h movement behaviors and cardiometabolic biomarkers during the retirement transition.

METHODS: Retiring public sector workers (n = 212, mean age 63.5 years, SD 1.1) from the Finnish Retirement and Aging study used a thigh-worn Axivity accelerometer and filled out a diary to obtain data on daily time spent in sedentary behavior (SED), light physical activity (LPA) and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and sleep before and after retirement (one year in-between). Cardiometabolic biomarkers, including LDL-cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, total:HDL-cholesterol ratio, triglycerides, C-reactive protein (CRP), fasting glucose and insulin, were measured. Associations between changes in 24-h movement behaviors and cardiometabolic biomarkers were analyzed using compositional robust regression and isotemporal substitution analysis.

RESULTS: Increasing LPA in relation to remaining behaviors was associated with an increase in HDL-cholesterol and decrease in total:HDL-cholesterol ratio (p < 0.05 for both). For instance, reallocation of 30 min from sleep/SED to LPA was associated with an increase in HDL-cholesterol by 0.02 mmol/l. Moreover, increasing MVPA in relation to remaining behaviors was associated with a decrease in triglycerides (p = 0.02). Reallocation of 30 min from SED/sleep to MVPA was associated with 0.07 – 0.08 mmol/l decrease in triglycerides. Findings related to LDL-cholesterol, CRP, fasting glucose and insulin were less conclusive.

CONCLUSIONS: During the transition from work to retirement, increasing physical activity at the expense of passive behaviors was associated with a better lipid profile. Our findings suggest that life transitions like retirement could be utilized more as an optimal time window for promoting physical activity and health.

PMID:38415991 | DOI:10.1249/MSS.0000000000003415