Available online 8 March 2024

The health effects of occupational physical activity are unclear. Further, there are no large studies in non-Western countries; and no study has examined the effects of changes in occupational physical activity on mortality.

Among adults residing in Taiwan, China, heavy baseline occupational physical activity was associated with lower all-cause mortality risk in both men and women

Increasing occupational physical activity over time was not associated with improved mortality risk, compared to stable occupational physical activity over time.

Evidence on the health benefits of occupational physical activity (OPA) is inconclusive. We examined the associations of baseline OPA and OPA changes with all-cause, cardiovascular disease (CVD), and cancer mortality and survival times.

This study included prospective and longitudinal data from the MJ Cohort, comprising adults over 18 years recruited in 1998–2016. 349,248 adults (177,314 women) with baseline OPA, of whom 105,715 (52,503 women) had 2 OPA measures at 6.3 ± 4.2 (mean ± SD) years apart. Exposures were baseline OPA, OPA changes, and baseline leisure-time physical activity (LTPA).

Over a mean mortality follow up of 16.2 ± 5.5) years for men and 16.4± 5.4 years for women, 11,696 deaths (2033 of CVD and 4631 of cancer causes) in men and 8980 deaths (1475 of CVD and 3689 of cancer causes) in women occurred. Combined moderately heavy/heavy baseline OPA was beneficially associated with all-cause mortality in men (multivariable-adjusted hazard ratio (HR) = 0.93, 95% confidence interval (95%CI): 0.89–0.98 compared to light OPA) and women (HR = 0.86, 95%CI: 0.79–0.93). Over a mean mortality follow up of 12.5 ± 4.6 years for men and 12.6 ± 4.6 years for women, OPA decreases in men were detrimentally associated (HR = 1.16, 95%CI: 1.01–1.33) with all-cause mortality, while OPA increases in women were beneficially (HR = 0.83, 95%CI: 0.70–0.97) associated with the same. Baseline or changes in OPA showed no associations with CVD or cancer mortality.

Higher baseline OPA was beneficially associated with all-cause mortality risk in both men and women. Our longitudinal OPA analyses partly confirmed the prospective findings, with some discordance between sex groups.

Cancer

Cardiovascular disease

Epidemiology

Mortality

© 2024 Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Shanghai University of Sport.