title: Relationship between frequency of aerobic activity and illness-related absenteeism in a large employee sample.
abstract: Frequency of weekly aerobic activity was compared with annual illness-related absenteeism in 79,070 adult US adult workers. Weekly exercise, days per week of aerobic activity (> or = 20 minutes), and absenteeism consisting of days per year and grouped as 1 to 3, 4 to 6, and 7+ days were recorded. After controlling for confounding variables, chi-squared values and odds ratios were calculated. A significant (chi 2 = 280.37) relationship was found between absenteeism and exercise. Differences (P < 0.05) in absenteeism were found between no exercise and all frequencies of weekly exercise. One day of exercise was associated with lower absenteeism when compared with no exercise, and 2 days of exercise was more favorable than one. No differences were found between any other combinations (2 to 3, 2 to 4+, 3 to 4+ days) of exercise frequency and absenteeism. These data suggest a significant relationship between exercise frequency and illness-related absenteeism.
authors.affiliation: 101 Colvin Center, School of Applied Health and Educational Psychology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 74078, USA.
authors.forename: B H
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Jacobson
authors.forename: S G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Aldana
mesh_terms: D000041:Absenteeism; D000328:Adult; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D003625:Data Collection; D015444:Exercise / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006293:Health Promotion; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016272:Occupational Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D018582:Sick Leave / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology