Adherence to 24-hour movement guidelines in adolescence and its association with lower risk of hypertension in adulthood

Background There is limited research on how adherence to 24 h movement guidelines from adolescence to adulthood afects long-term hypertension outcomes. This study examined the association between sustained adherence to these guidelines and hypertension risk. Methods Analysis was done on data from adolescents 12- to 19-year-olds who took part in Waves I and V of the Add Health Study. Physical activity (PA), screen time, and sleep duration were assessed through self-report questionnaires. Blood pressure (BP) was assessed on the right arm following a 5 min seated rest, utilizing an oscillometric device, and hypertension was defned as systolic/diastolic BP≥140/90 mmHg, physician-diagnosed hypertension, or current antihypertensive medication use. Results This prospective study included a total of 3076 participants (60.3% female), and 802 were diagnosed with hypertension. Meeting sleep duration guidelines at Wave I was associated with reductions in systolic [−0.568 mmHg, 95% biascorrected and accelerated (BCa) confdent interval (CI)−2.128 to−0.011, P=0.044] and diastolic (−0.331 mmHg, 95% BCa CI−1.506 to−0.071, P=0.043) BP at Wave V. Adherence to PA and sleep duration guidelines at both waves further reduced BP, with the greatest decreases observed among participants meeting all three guidelines: systolic (−6.184 mmHg, 95% BCa CI−13.45 to−0.915, P=0.040) and diastolic BP (−3.156 mmHg, 95% BCa CI−6.413 to−0.120, P=0.047). The risk of hypertension was lower among those who met the PA guidelines individually [relative risk (RR) 0.710, 95% CI 0.516–0.976, P=0.035] or adhered to all three recommendations (RR 0.699, 95% CI 0.311–0.899, P=0.030) in both waves. Conclusions Our fndings highlight the cardiovascular benefts of consistently adhering to healthy movement behaviors from adolescence through adulthood.