Is Midlife Occupational Physical Activity Related to Disability in Old Age? The SNAC-Kungsholmen Study

Abstract

ObjectivesLeisure-time physical activity (PA) has been established to be related to more years lived without disability. However, less is known about the relationship between occupational PA and disability in old age. The aim of the study was 1) to investigate whether midlife occupational PA is related to late-life disability, and 2) to test the hypothesis that the association differs according to the occupational categories of blue and white collar work.MethodsThe study population was derived from the Swedish National Study on Aging and Care, and consisted of a random sample of 1804 subjects aged 72 and above. The association of occupational PA during the longest held occupation with disability in old age was determined using logistic regression.ResultsThere was no significant relationship between occupational PA and disability in personal or instrumental activities of daily living (ADL) after controlling for demographic and health-related factors. However, in stratified analyses moderate levels of occupational PA was associated with a lower odds ratio of dependency in personal ADL amongst white collar workers, compared to low level of occupational PA (OR = 0.34 95% C1 0.12–0.98).ConclusionsModerate levels of midlife occupational PA were associated with a decreased risk of personal ADL disability in old age among white collar workers, but not among blue collar workers. Our results highlight the importance of encouraging white collar workers to engage in physical activity during or outside work hours.

Work-related biomechanical exposure and job strain in midlife separately and jointly predict disability after 28 years: a Finnish longitudinal study

“…Even though studies on the association between work-related exposures in working life and disability are limited, there is a lack of consistency in the findings. The results of our study contradict the findings of a Swedish study, which reported that occupational physical activity had no significant association with ADL disability (35). In our study, biomechanical exposure, which includes frequent occupational physical activities, was associated with high likelihood of higher disability.…”

Midlife Occupational Physical Activity and Risk of Disability Later in Life: National Health and Aging Trends Study

“…Other studies also support the results of the current study, showing that strenuous work increases the risk of poor physical functioning later in life . In contrast to the current results, a previous study did not find any effect of midlife occupational PA on disability in elderly adults . There are many factors that could explain the lack of association reported in that study.…”

Midlife job profiles and disabilities in later life: a 28-year follow-up of municipal employees in Finland

“…Office work is an occupation with low occupational physical strain and some occupational psychosocial strain, but the risk of later life disability due to this job profile was not attenuated by other confounding factors. This finding in our study supports the prediction of physical functioning difficulties of later life by workrelated factors among women in the French GAZEL cohort (Sabbath et al 2013), but contradicts those of an earlier study reporting that midlife moderate occupational physical activity in white-collar workers was associated with a decreased risk of later life disability (Rydwik et al 2013). Although occupational hazards may have no adverse effect on a person's physical functioning while that person is occupationally active, they may eventually lead to functional decline and disability years later or after retirement (McCarthy et al 2013;Kenny et al 2008;Cassou et al 1992).…”

“…In a study in Ireland, McCarthy et al (2013) found that physically demanding work history was associated with ADL disability allowing for relative weight among 328 subjects, particularly in the 70-80-year-olds, in a cross-sectional analysis. On the contrary, a study among a random sample of urban Swedes (Rydwik et al 2013) showed no association of retrospectively assessed occupational physical activity in midlife with personal or instrumental ADL disability in old age in an analysis comprising 1809 subjects and adjusted for demographic and socioeconomic factors.…”