Workplace Exposures and Cognitive Function During Adulthood: Evidence From National Survey of Midlife Development and the O*NET.
Expand understanding of the role of selected workplace exposures (ie, occupational complexity, conflict in the workplace, pace of work, and physical hazards) in adults' cognitive function.



Cross-sectional data (n = 1991) from the second wave of the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study; restricted to participants who completed telephone-based cognitive assessments of episodic memory, executive functioning, and self-perceived memory. Occupational exposure data were harvested from the ONET Release 6.0.



Greater complexity was associated with better self-perceived memory among women and men, and better episodic memory and executive functioning among women. Greater physical hazards were independently associated with poorer episodic memory and executive functioning.



Objective assessments of physical and psychosocial exposures in the workplace are independently associated with cognitive outcomes in adulthood, with psychosocial exposures being particularly pronounced among women.
Department of Family and Child Sciences, Florida State University, Tallahassee (Dr Grzywacz); Department of Gerontology, The University of Haifa (Dr Segel-Karpas); and Department of Psychology, Brandeis University, Boston, Massachusetts (Dr Lachman).
Joseph G
JG
Grzywacz
Dikla
D
Segel-Karpas
Margie E
ME
Lachman
D000328:Adult; D003071:Cognition; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D056344:Executive Function; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D061212:Memory, Episodic; D008875:Middle Aged; D016273:Occupational Exposure; D012647:Self-Assessment; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D017132:Workplace