Examining sedentary time as a risk factor for cardiometabolic diseases and their markers in South Asian adults: a systematic review

The objective was to systematically review the literature to determine whether sedentary time was associated with cardiometabolic diseases and their risk factors among South Asian adults. Six electronic databases were searched to identify all studies that examined the association between sedentary time and cardiometabolic diseases (e.g., diabetes, cardiovascular disease) and their risk factors [e.g., body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), lipids, blood pressure (BP), glucose] among South Asian adults. Two independent reviewers performed abstract/full-text screening, data abstraction, and quality assessments. Searching identified 1757 potential articles; 22 were used in the analysis. Greater sedentary time was associated with an increased likelihood of diabetes (n = 5), higher BMI (n = 13), WC (n = 3), BP (n = 2), and glucose (n = 4). Thirteen out of 22 studies were of higher quality. Results identified a trend whereby greater sedentary time was associated with an increased risk for diabetes, and several other cardiometabolic risk factors among South Asian adults. High quality studies are needed to identify whether risk factors are independent of physical activity levels to inform culturally-specific interventions for South Asians.