Introduction
This study examines the separate and combined relationships between occupational physical
activity (characterized by nonaerobic activities such as heavy lifting and prolonged
standing) and leisure time physical activity on future diabetes incidence.
Methods
Data from Ontario respondents aged 35–74 years from the 2003 Canadian Community Health
Survey (N=40,507) were prospectively linked to the Ontario Diabetes Database for diabetes
cases until 2017, with statistical analysis performed in 2019. Leisure time physical
activity was self-reported and occupational physical activity estimated from occupation
titles. The analytical sample consisted of 7,026 employed people without previous
diabetes diagnoses, with 846 diabetes cases recorded. Cox proportional hazard models
were constructed to evaluate relationships over a median follow-up time of 13.7 years.
Results
No relationships were observed between occupational physical activity and diabetes.
High leisure time physical activity was associated with lower diabetes risk for low
occupational physical activity and stationary jobs (hazard ratio=0.63, 95% CI=0.47,
0.85). No association was found for high leisure time physical activity on diabetes
risk for high occupational physical activity (hazard ratio=1.07, 95% CI=0.73, 1.56)
or low occupational physical activity with movement (hazard ratio=0.92, 95% CI=0.55,
1.55).
Conclusions
This study suggests that physical activity recommendations exclusively recommending
increased physical activity may only be effective for the sedentary part of the working
population in reducing diabetes risk. Findings await confirmation in comparable prospective
studies in other populations.
To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
Purchase one-time access:
Academic & Personal: 24 hour online accessCorporate R&D Professionals: 24 hour online accessOne-time access price info
- For academic or personal research use, select 'Academic and Personal'
- For corporate R&D use, select 'Corporate R&D Professionals'
Subscribe:
Subscribe to American Journal of Preventive MedicineAlready a print subscriber? Claim online access
Already an online subscriber? Sign in
Register: Create an account
Institutional Access: Sign in to ScienceDirect
REFERENCES
- Physical activity/exercise and diabetes: a position statement of the American Diabetes Association.Diabetes Care. 2016; 39: 2065-2079https://doi.org/10.2337/dc16-1728
- Physical activity and the risk of type 2 diabetes: a systematic review and dose–response meta-analysis.Eur J Epidemiol. 2015; 30: 529-542https://doi.org/10.1007/s10654-015-0056-z
- Trends over 5 decades in U.S. occupation-related physical activity and their associations with obesity.PLoS One. 2011; 6: e19657https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0019657
- Frequent exertion and frequent standing at work, by industry and occupation group - United States, 2015.MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2018; 67: 1-6https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6701a1
- The combined relationship of occupational and leisure-time physical activity with all-cause mortality among men, accounting for physical fitness.Am J Epidemiol. 2014; 179: 559-566https://doi.org/10.1093/aje/kwt294
- High occupational physical activity and risk of ischaemic heart disease in women: the interplay with physical activity during leisure time.Eur J Prev Cardiol. 2015; 22: 1601-1608https://doi.org/10.1177/2047487314554866
- Occupational and leisure time physical activity: risk of all-cause mortality and myocardial infarction in the Copenhagen City Heart Study. A prospective cohort study.BMJ Open. 2012; 2e000556https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2011-000556
- Do highly physically active workers die early? A systematic review with meta-analysis of data from 193 696 participants.Br J Sports Med. 2018; 52: 1320-1326https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2017-098540
- The physical activity paradox: six reasons why occupational physical activity (OPA) does not confer the cardiovascular health benefits that leisure time physical activity does.Br J Sports Med. 2018; 52: 149-150https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2017-097965
Buijs DM, Ramadi A, MacDonald K, Lightfoot R, Senaratne M, Haennel RG. Quantity and quality of daily physical activity in older cardiac patients. Can J Cardiovasc Nurs. 2015;25(3):10–16. http://publications.virtualpaper.com/canadian-council-of-cardiovascular-nurse/cjcn---summer-2015-web/2015072101/. Accessed December 10, 2019.
- Occupational physical activity, energy expenditure and 11-year progression of carotid atherosclerosis.Scand J Work Environ Health. 2007; 33: 405-424https://doi.org/10.5271/sjweh.1171
- Standing at work and progression of carotid atherosclerosis.Scand J Work Environ Health. 2000; 26: 227-236https://doi.org/10.5271/sjweh.536
- The effects of physical activity on serum C-reactive protein and inflammatory markers: a systematic review.J Am Coll Cardiol. 2005; 45: 1563-1569https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacc.2004.12.077
- Cardiorespiratory fitness and the incidence of type 2 diabetes: prospective study of Japanese men.Diabetes Care. 2003; 26: 2918-2922https://doi.org/10.2337/diacare.26.10.2918
- Occupational, commuting, and leisure-time physical activity in relation to risk for type 2 diabetes in middle-aged Finnish men and women.Diabetologia. 2003; 46: 322-329https://doi.org/10.1007/s00125-003-1031-x
- Occupational and leisure time physical inactivity and the risk of type II diabetes and hypertension among Mexican adults: a prospective cohort study.Sci Rep. 2018; 8: 5399https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-23553-6
- Physical activity and risk of type 2 diabetes among Native Hawaiians, Japanese Americans, and Caucasians: the multiethnic cohort.J Phys Act Health. 2012; 9: 634-641https://doi.org/10.1123/jpah.9.5.634
- Different domains of self-reported physical activity and risk of type 2 diabetes in a population-based Swedish cohort: the Malmö Diet and Cancer Study.BMC Public Health. 2020; 20: 261https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-020-8344-2
- Leisure-time, occupational, and commuting physical activity and risk of type 2 diabetes in Japanese workers: a cohort study.BMC Public Health. 2015; 15: 1004https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-015-2362-5
Béland Y. Canadian community health survey - methodological overview. Health Rep. 2002;13(3):9–14. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/catalogue/82-003-X20010036099. Accessed December 10, 2019.
Allison KR. Predictors of inactivity: an analysis of the Ontario Health Survey. Can J Public Health. 1996;87(5):354–358. http://europepmc.org/abstract/med/8972972. Accessed December 11, 2019.
Canadian 24-hour movement guidelines: an integration of physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and sleep. Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology. http://www.csep.ca/guidelines. Updated October 1, 2020. Accessed October 1, 2020.
- National Occupational Classification Career Handbook.2nd ed. Canadian Government Publishing, Ottawa, ON2003
- The relationship between age and work injury in British Columbia: examining differences across time and nature of injury.J Occup Health. 2013; 55: 98-107https://doi.org/10.1539/joh.12-0219-oa
- The relationship between chronic conditions and work-related injuries and repetitive strain injuries in Canada.J Occup Environ Med. 2012; 54: 841-846https://doi.org/10.1097/JOM.0b013e31824e11f7
- Use of O*NET as a job exposure matrix: a literature review.Am J Ind Med. 2010; 53: 898-914https://doi.org/10.1002/ajim.20846
- Identifying diabetes cases from administrative data: a population-based validation study.BMC Health Serv Res. 2018; 18: 316https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-018-3148-0
- Diabetes in Ontario: determination of prevalence and incidence using a validated administrative data algorithm.Diabetes Care. 2002; 25: 512-516https://doi.org/10.2337/diacare.25.3.512
Gagné C, Roberts G, Keown L. Weighted estimation and bootstrap variance estimation for analyzing survey data: how to implement in selected software. The Research Data Centres Information and Technical. Statistics Canada; 2015. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/12-002-x/2014001/article/11901-eng.htm. Updated November 27. Accessed November 1, 2019.
- Physical activity, sedentary leisure-time and risk of incident type 2 diabetes: a prospective study of 512 000 Chinese adults.BMJ Open Diabetes Res Care. 2019; 7e000835https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjdrc-2019-000835
- The independent effect of type 2 diabetes mellitus on ischemic heart disease, stroke, and death: a population-based study of 13,000 men and women with 20 years of follow-up.Arch Intern Med. 2004; 164: 1422-1426https://doi.org/10.1001/archinte.164.13.1422
- Minimal intensity physical activity (standing and walking) of longer duration improves insulin action and plasma lipids more than shorter periods of moderate to vigorous exercise (cycling) in sedentary subjects when energy expenditure is comparable.PLoS One. 2013; 8: e55542https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0055542
- Effects of leisure-time and occupational physical activities on 20-year incidence of acute myocardial infarction: mediation and interaction.Scand J Work Environ Health. 2016; 42: 423-434https://doi.org/10.5271/sjweh.3580
- The interplay between physical activity at work and during leisure time – risk of ischemic heart disease and all-cause mortality in middle-aged Caucasian men.Scand J Work Environ Health. 2009; 35: 466-474https://doi.org/10.5271/sjweh.1357
- Association between occupational physical activity and myocardial infarction: a prospective cohort study.BMJ Open. 2016; 6e012692https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2016-012692
- Combined association of occupational and leisure-time physical activity with all-cause and coronary heart disease mortality among a cohort of men followed-up for 22 years.Occup Environ Med. 2015; 72: 617-624https://doi.org/10.1136/oemed-2014-102613
- Sex differences and mechanisms of task-specific muscle fatigue.Exerc Sport Sci Rev. 2009; 37: 113-122https://doi.org/10.1097/JES.0b013e3181aa63e2
- Skeletal muscle mass and distribution in 468 men and women aged 18–88 yr.J Appl Physiol (1985). 2000; 89: 81-88https://doi.org/10.1152/jappl.2000.89.1.81
- Leisure and lives: personal expressivity across the life span.in: Binstock RH Shanas E Handbook of Aging and the Social Sciences. Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, Florence, KY1976: 310-341
- Environmental and policy determinants of physical activity in the United States.Am J Public Health. 2001; 91: 1995-2003https://doi.org/10.2105/ajph.91.12.1995
- Epidemiology of physical inactivity in Poland: prevalence and determinants in a former communist country in socioeconomic transition.Public Health. 2009; 123: 592-597https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2009.08.004
- Leisure time physical activity and mortality: a detailed pooled analysis of the dose–response relationship.JAMA Intern Med. 2015; 175: 959-967https://doi.org/10.1001/jamainternmed.2015.0533
Article Info
Publication History
Published online: November 25, 2020
Identification
Copyright
© 2020 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
