Sedentary behavior and health outcomes in patients with heart failure: a systematic review and meta-analysis

A better understanding of the association between sedentary behavior and heart failure is essential for the development of interventions to improve patients’ outcomes. Therefore, a systematic review was conducted to determine the association between sedentary behavior and all-cause mortality, health-related quality of life, and depression in heart failure patients. We searched Web of Science, PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library and articles in references on 7 May 2021. The search results were limited to articles on heart failure patients over the age of 18, observational studies investigating the association between sedentary behavior and heart failure, and studies reporting one or more outcomes of interest. Two reviewers independently screened the literature and extracted data. Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology was used to assess the quality of articles. Nine observational studies were included, of which, four were of high quality. Four cohort studies indicated that sedentary behavior was significantly associated with increased all-cause mortality (hazard ratio: 1.97; 95% confidence interval: 1.60 to 2.44; I2 = 38.9%). In addition, subgroup analysis based on geographical regions was conducted (hazard ratio: 1.82; 95% confidence interval: 1.46 to 2.29; I2 = 0%). Sedentary behavior was associated with worse health-related quality of life in patients with heart failure, and the regression coefficients ranged from 0.004 to 0.033 (95% confidence interval: 0.0004 to 0.055). Although sedentary behavior was associated with increased all-cause mortality and worse quality of life in patients with heart failure, further studies are needed to determine whether this association is causal.