Is midlife occupational physical activity related to disability in old age? The SNAC-Kungsholmen study.
OBJECTIVE
Leisure-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.


METHODS
The 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.


RESULTS
There 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).


CONCLUSIONS
Moderate 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.
Aging Research Center, Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institutet and Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden. elisabeth.rydwik@ki.se
Elisabeth
E
Rydwik
Anna-Karin
AK
Welmer
Sara
S
Angleman
Laura
L
Fratiglioni
Hui-Xin
HX
Wang
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D006233:Persons with Disabilities; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007899:Leisure Activities; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity; D009790:Occupations; D016017:Odds Ratio; D013548:Sweden