Physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and cardiovascular disease risk factors in Canadians living with and without cardiovascular disease

Background: To describe and compare the proportion of adult Canadians living with and without cardiovascular disease (CVD) meeting the physical activity (PA) and sedentary behaviour (SB) recommendations from the Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines using accelerometer and self-reported measures.

Methods: Using adult (aged 18-79 years) accelerometer data (Actical worn during waking hours for 7 consecutive days) as well as chronic condition, socio-demographic, recreational screen time, and PA questions from three combined cycles of the Canadian Health Measures Survey, the PA, SB, and CVD risk factors of adults living with and without CVD were compared.

Results: A total of 7,035 Canadian adults who reported living with (n=363) and without (n=6,672) CVD were included. Few adults living with CVD were meeting the PA (29%) and SB (15%) recommendations. CVD status was not significantly associated with the likelihood of meeting the PA or screen time recommendations, but adults living with CVD had a lower likelihood of meeting the sedentary time recommendation when compared to adults without CVD (aOR=0.49, 95% CI: 0.30 - 0.82). Adults, primarily males, living with rather than without CVD engaged in less light and moderate intensity PA.

Conclusion: The PA and SB of Canadian adults living with and without CVD are significantly different. Adults living with CVD had a lower likelihood of meeting the sedentary time recommendation, and adults living with CVD, primarily males, engaged in less light and moderate intensity PA. The identification of these movement behaviour targets may assist in allocating resources to sedentary individuals with the greatest need of PA.