Abstract
PurposeTo investigate if persons with high physical activity at work have the same benefits from leisure time physical activity as persons with sedentary work.MethodsIn the Copenhagen City Heart Study, a prospective cohort of 7,411 males and 8,916 females aged 25–66 years without known cardiovascular disease at entry in 1976–78, 1981–83, 1991–94, or 2001–03, the authors analyzed with sex-stratified multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression the association between leisure time physical activity and cardiovascular and all-cause mortality among individuals with different levels of occupational physical activity.ResultsDuring a median follow-up of 22.4 years, 4,003 individuals died from cardiovascular disease and 8,935 from all-causes. Irrespective of level of occupational physical activity, a consistently lower risk with increasing leisure time physical activity was found for both cardiovascular and all-cause mortality among both men and women. Compared to low leisure time physical activity, the survival benefit ranged from 1.5–3.6 years for moderate and 2.6–4.7 years for high leisure time physical activity among the different levels of occupational physical activity.ConclusionPublic campaigns and initiatives for increasing physical activity in the working population should target everybody, irrespective of physical activity at work.
Highlights
A sedentary lifestyle is an established risk factor for cardiovascular disease and mortality [1,2,3]
Men with very high occupational physical activity were more frequently current smokers, consumed more than 1 unit alcohol a day, had less than 8 years of school education, had a lower household income, had a higher Body mass index (BMI) and fewer were taking blood pressure medication compared to men with low occupational physical activity
Those with a high occupational physical activity level were more frequently current smokers, were less physically active in their leisure time and more often had less than 8 years of school education compared to females with a low occupational physical activity level
Summary
A sedentary lifestyle is an established risk factor for cardiovascular disease and mortality [1,2,3]. A number of studies have shown that individuals with high occupational physical activity (i.e. work including much heavy lifting, carrying, pushing and standing) have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and premature mortality [11,13]. This statement is relevant for individuals exposed to physically demanding work who have a low cardiorespiratory fitness [14]. These findings suggest that persons with physically demanding work may have the same need and benefit from leisure time physical activity as persons with sedentary work
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