13-Year Associations of Occupational and Leisure-Time Physical Activity with Cardiorespiratory Fitness in CARDIA

Abstract

Purpose: Differential effects on fitness are hypothesized to contribute to the opposing health effects of leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) and occupational physical activity (OPA). As such, this study examined cross-sectional and longitudinal associations of fitness with LTPA and OPA. Methods: This study examined fitness associations with LTPA and OPA across 13 yr in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults study (years 7 (baseline), 10, 15, and 20 (follow-up) examinations). Fitness was measured at baseline and follow-up via symptom-limited maximal graded exercise test (GXT) duration (in seconds), whereas LTPA and OPA were self-reported during each examination. Baseline and follow-up cross-sectional associations of LTPA (low, medium, high) and OPA (0, 1-6, and ≥6 months with OPA) with fitness were examined using linear regression. Longitudinal linear regression examined associations between 13-yr LTPA (low, medium, or high) and OPA (no, decreasing, or increasing) trajectories with fitness at follow-up, adjusted for baseline values.All models adjusted for center, sex, race, age, education, smoking history, alcohol intake, resting blood pressure, diabetes status, and body mass index. Stratified analyses examined associations by sex (female/male), race (Black/White), and LTPA groups. Results: Compared with low, medium, and high LTPA were positively associated with fitness in all analyses (P < 0.001). Reporting 1-6 or ≥6 months with OPA was negatively associated with fitness in cross-sectional follow-up models (β = −15.6 and −15.4, respectively; P ≤ 0.01). Longitudinally, those with increasing OPA had lower follow-up fitness compared with no OPA (β = −16.41, P < 0.01). Negative associations of OPA with fitness were not meaningfully different across sex and race groups. Significant LTPA-OPA interactions were observed (P < 001). Conclusions: Physical activity research and public health promotion should consider domain-specific associations on cardiovascular health.

Occupational physical activity, all-cause, cardiovascular disease, and cancer mortality in 349,248 adults: Prospective and longitudinal analyses of the MJ Cohort

“…We did not replicate the contrasting OPA (detrimental) and LTPA (beneficial) associations, known as the “physical activity paradox”, 23 , 24 reported in the Danish study 10 and the 2018 meta-analysis (in men only). 7 Our findings confirmed the well-established 1 dose–response associations between LTPA and all-cause 25 mortality and revealed additive benefits in highly active men and women in both domains.…”

The Physical Activity Paradox: Implications for Worksite Health Promotion Programming and Considerations for the Conditions of Work

“…on health outcomes, especially for men, such as premature death, even after adjusting for relevant factors (8). Additional analyses have emerged that support these findings, including reviews of the literature and cross-sectional and longitudinal studies (9)(10)(11)15). Inconclusive data also have been published as a recent large-scale analysis suggests that moderate to high levels of OPA contribute to longevity in men; however, OPA does not seem to affect longevity in women (16).…”