Workplace Standing Desks and Arterial Stiffness

Abstract

At least 1 in 4 American adults are classified as sedentary. Sedentary behavior is a contributing factor to many diseases such as cardiovascular disease and type II diabetes. Sedentary behavior and age are known contributors to arterial stiffness, but it is unknown if prolonged standing at work could help to reduce arterial stiffness. Therefore, we examined 48 individuals (40 women; 8 men) who primarily sit at work (n=24, age: 41±1 years, BMI: 25±1 kg/m2), or primarily stand at work (n=24, age: 45±2 years, BMI: 25±1 kg/m2). Arterial stiffness was assessed as pulse wave velocity (PWV) through applanation tonometry and electrocardiography. Aerobic fitness was estimated via a Rockport walk test and regional body fat was measured with bioelectric impedance. Analysis of covariance was performed to determine if PWV was different between those who consistently sit at work vs. those who consistently stand at work. Age, fitness, and regional fat percentage were used as covariates. Carotid‐femoral PWV (cfPWV) was not different between sitting and standing (6.6±0.3 vs. 6.9±0.3 m/s), or when normalized to aortic mean arterial pressure (aMAP) (0.0816±0.003 vs. 0.0789±0.002 ms−1 * mmHg−1). Likewise, leg PWV was similar between sitting and standing (9.0±0.3 vs. 8.8±0.3 m/s). Therefore, we used stepwise regression to determine the best explanatory variable for cfPWV, cfPWV/aMAP, and leg PWV. The strongest predicting variables for cfPWV and cfPWV/aMAP were age (p<0.001; p=0.002) and trunk fat percentage (p=0.063; p=0.039), respectively. However, the strongest predictors of leg PWV were leg fat percentage (p=0.051) and fitness (p=0.159). In conclusion, prolonged standing at work does not appear to alter arterial stiffness when controlling for important covariates such as age, fitness, and regional fat percentage. Our findings are in agreement with other studies indicating the influence of age on arterial stiffness, and indicate regional fat percentage may help to predict PWV.This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2018 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.