The effect of uninterrupted and interrupted sitting on vascular function in adults with long COVID, 2025, Hudson et al.

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The effect of uninterrupted and interrupted sitting on vascular function in adults with long COVID
Nick Hudson; Scott Hannah; Margaret Husted; Simon Fryer; Helen Ryan-Stewart; Mark Rickenbach; Keeron Stone; James Faulkner

Acute prolonged sitting increases blood pressure (BP) and arterial stiffness (AS). Both of these may be mitigated via light physical activity (LPA). Whether long COVID (LC), which partly manifests as vascular sequelae, predisposes a heightened sensitivity to sitting or diminished benefits from its interruption is unknown. The aims of this study were to identify whether individuals with LC: (i) exhibit a worse BP/AS response to uninterrupted sitting and (ii) a diminished mitigation of BP/AS response to sitting interrupted with LPA, compared to healthy controls.

Thirty participants with LC and 15 controls completed 2 h of uninterrupted sitting and sitting interrupted with LPA. Central and peripheral systolic and diastolic BP and carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV) were determined pre and post sitting. Linear mixed-effects models demonstrated no three-way or two-way interactions for any variable.

There was a significant main effect of time, with increases in central systolic (MD = 3.37 mmHg, SE = 0.93 mmHg, p < 0.001) and central diastolic (MD = 3.00 mmHg, SE = 0.58 mmHg, p < 0.001) BP. cfPWV was not altered in sitting in either group (MD = 0.13 m/s, SE = 0.09 m/s, p = 0.170).

Uninterrupted sitting increases BP similarly, but AS is unchanged. Interrupting sitting with LPA did not mitigate sitting-induced increase in BP regardless of LC diagnosis.

Web | PDF | Physiological Reports | Open Access
 
I was about to say 'ooh, I applied to participate in this study but never heard back from them', but then I looked at the participant information sheet that was emailed to me and it says there was going to be a component of cognitive testing and 'measuring blood flow to the brain', which doesn't appear in this paper (unless I've missed it). I wonder if that's a separate project or if they had a rethink halfway through.
 
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