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Strenuous physical activity at work has been associated with an independent increased risk for cardiovascular disease and mortality. However, the physiological mechanism of this relation remains unclear. This study examined the relation between occupational physical activity and ambulatory blood pressure (BP) in a sample of middle-aged men and women.
Methods
Results are based on observations in 182 workers (60% male, mean age 51 years) from the Belstress II study. The usual level of occupational physical activity was assessed by 5 items from the Job Content Questionnaire (high physical effort, lifting heavy loads, rapid physical activity, awkward body positions and awkward positions of head or arms). On a regular working day, participants wore an ambulatory BP monitor and a Computer-Science-and-Applications (CSA) activity monitor during 24 hours. Associations between level of physical activity and systolic BP were examined by means of Analysis of Covariance.
Results
After adjusting for gender, age, BMI, smoking, job strain and usual level of leisure time physical activity, workers with an overall high level of self-reported occupational physical activity as well as those often lifting heavy loads at work showed significantly higher mean systolic BP at work, at home and during sleep (average difference of 6 mmHg). Based on field measures of CSA activity in 151 participants, the proportion of work time spent in physical activity of moderate or vigorous intensity was not associated with BP levels. After adjusting for covariates, those with a high proportion of leisure time spent in moderate or vigorous activity showed significantly lower mean systolic BP levels during the daytime.
Discussion
These findings suggest that occupational physical activities with the upper body or arms are related to elevated daily systolic BP. On the other hand, non-specific high intensity whole-body activities measured by objective field measures were not associated with elevated BP.