High Occupational Physical Activity and cardiovascular risk factors in employees of Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas S.A. Company: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

BackgroundThe impact of occupational physical activity (OPA) intensity, considering adults work many hours a day, on health is unknown. The present study aims to evaluate the association between the high intensity of OPA and cardiovascular risk factors of employees.MethodsA cross-sectional study was carried out in the “Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas S.A. Company” (FCC S.A. Delegation) in 2017, Spain. The intensity of OPA of each employee was classified by work categories in low (≤ 3 METs) or high (> 3 METs). Health and lifestyle data of employees were collected on medical consultation in the workplace.ResultsAssociations were analyzed between the high intensity of OPA and cardiovascular risk factors of employees. 751 employees, 55.5% (n = 417) with high intensity of OPA. An 82.2% (n = 245) of employees with low intensity of OPA presented overweight/obesity compared with 69.0% (n = 171) with high intensity of OPA employees (p < 0.001). In men, high intensity of OPA is negatively associated with Body Mass Index (BMI) (B: -0.042, p = 0.003), waist circumference (B: -0.027, p < 0.001) waist-hip ratio (B: -5.484, p < 0.001), cholesterol (B: -0.007, p = 0.001) and triglycerides (B= -0.003, p = 0.025). In women, high intensity of OPA was positively associated with blood pressure (BP) (systolic BP: B = 0.036, p = 0.005 and diastolic BP: B = 0.040, p = 0.021).ConclusionsIn conclusion, the high intensity of OPA is associated with less cardiovascular risk factors in men, whereas women are associated with high levels of blood pressure, suggesting an influence of gender and work categories.