Collaborative Solutions for Breaking up Sedentary Time in Black Older Adults With Type 2 Diabetes: The Interrupt Diabetes Study

The disparate burden of Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) faced by Black individuals makes attention to preventing or delaying the development of T2D and its associated cardiovascular (CV) complications, essential.

Similar to differences in cardiovascular disease (CVD) rates across racial and ethnic groups of older people, there are differences in engagement in physical activity (PA), a significant contributor to CVD. Black adults are less likely to engage in physical activity PA than their non-Hispanic White peers, with 26.7% of Black Minnesotans reporting that they did not engage any leisure-time PA in the past month, compared to 19.6% of non-Hispanic White Minnesotans. Notably, recent research has demonstrated that high amounts SB (i.e., sitting or lying with low levels of energy expenditure) also have significant detrimental effects on health, beyond those of physical inactivity. Experimental data from lab-based studies demonstrate that breaking up prolonged SB can rapidly improve markers of cardiometabolic risk (e.g., glucose and endothelial function) but the majority of these studies have focused on young, healthy, White adults. Given the significant inequities and health disparities faced by Black individuals and the lack of adequate representation of Black older adults in studies examining SB in individuals with T2D, understanding psychosocial and societal contributors to and consequences of SB experienced by this population is an essential first step toward developing relevant interventions targeting SB, and ultimately, CV health.

The disparate burden of T2D faced by Black individuals makes attention to preventing or delaying the development of T2D and its associated CV complications, essential.

Similar to differences in CVD rates across racial and ethnic groups of older people, there are differences in engagement in physical activity (PA), a significant contributor to CVD. Black adults are less likely to engage in PA than their non-Hispanic White peers, with 26.7% of Black Minnesotans reporting that they did not engage any leisure-time PA in the past month, compared to 19.6% of non-Hispanic White Minnesotans. Notably, recent research has demonstrated that high amounts SB (i.e., sitting or lying with low levels of energy expenditure) also have significant detrimental effects on health, beyond those of physical inactivity. Experimental data from lab-based studies demonstrate that breaking up prolonged SB can rapidly improve markers of cardiometabolic risk (e.g., glucose and endothelial function) but the majority of these studies have focused on young, healthy, White adults. Given the significant inequities and health disparities faced by Black individuals and the lack of adequate representation of Black older adults in studies examining SB in individuals with T2D, understanding psychosocial and societal contributors to and consequences of SB experienced by this population is an essential first step toward developing relevant interventions targeting SB, and ultimately, CV health.

The goal is to develop a deeper understanding of individuals' experiences of sedentary behavior (SB) and collaborate to design strategies to reduce SB. Using the Center for Chronic Disease Reduction and Equity Promotion Across Minnesota (C2DREAM) conceptual model, social-ecological framework, and COM-B model, the study will seek to understand the relationship between SB and individual, relationship, community, and societal factors. The study will also examine the context of SB and strategies that participants have used and could or would consider using to break up the time they spend sitting.