title: The Relation between Occupational Sitting and Mental, Cardiometabolic, and Musculoskeletal Health over a Period of 15 Years--The Doetinchem Cohort Study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Sedentary behaviors are reported to impose health risks. Since occupational exposure is a major proportion of total sedentary time, we studied the association between occupational sitting and a number of health problems.
  
  
  METHODS
  From the longitudinal Doetinchem Cohort Study, we selected those working at baseline with complete data (n = 1,509). Participants were examined four times at 5 year-intervals between 1993 and 2012. We characterized occupational sitting as follows: 1) stable sitters and stable non sitters over a 15-year period, based on job characteristics and (2) having a job with a low, moderate or high amount of sitting, based on tertiles of self-reported number of hours per week of occupational sitting, measured at wave 5. Linear and logistic regression models were used. Outcomes were self-reported mental health, low-back or upper extremity pain, and objectively measured cardiometabolic health (overweight, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Compared to stable non sitters, a lower risk of chronic upper extremity pain was observed for stable sitters (OR 0.75, 95% CI: 0.57; 1.00) as well as for those in the two upper tertiles for hours of occupational sitting (>4 hr/wk) (OR 0.65; 95%CI 0.50-0.86). For the other health outcomes studied, no significant associations were found with occupational sitting.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings do not support the hypothesis that occupational sitting is associated with health problems. The finding that occupational sitting is associated with less upper extremity pain might be due to the association of occupational sitting with less physical load.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Nutrition, Prevention and Health Services, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: H Susan J
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Picavet
authors.affiliation: Centre for Nutrition, Prevention and Health Services, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: L Willemijn
authors.initials: LW
authors.lastname: Pas
authors.affiliation: Centre for Nutrition, Prevention and Health Services, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Sandra H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: van Oostrom
authors.affiliation: Department of Public and Occupational Health, EMGO+ Institute for Health and Care Research, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Hidde P
authors.initials: HP
authors.lastname: van der Ploeg
authors.affiliation: Centre for Nutrition, Prevention and Health Services, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: W M Monique
authors.initials: WM
authors.lastname: Verschuren
authors.affiliation: Centre for Nutrition, Prevention and Health Services, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven, The Netherlands.|Department of Public and Occupational Health, EMGO+ Institute for Health and Care Research, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Karin I
authors.initials: KI
authors.lastname: Proper
mesh_terms: D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006321:Heart / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D008660:Metabolism; D008875:Middle Aged; D009141:Musculoskeletal System / Q000378:metabolism*; D009426:Netherlands; D009790:Occupations; D011187:Posture / Q000502:physiology*; D013997:Time Factors