Abstract
BACKGROUND: Recent evidence suggests that work-related physical activity may not have the same mental health benefits as leisure-time physical activity. Further, work-related physical activity is likely to include a variety of different behaviours for people with different occupations. As such, the aim of this study was to determine if occupation type moderated the association between work-related physical activity and psychological distress. METHODS: A randomly selected sample of 1080 women from Melbourne, Australia completed the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) and General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-30), and reported their current occupation. RESULTS: Linear regression analyses indicated that occupation significantly moderated the association between work-related walking and psychological distress (F [8, 55]"‰="‰2.26, p"‰="‰.036). Given evidence of moderation, we fitted linear regression models to test the associations between work-related physical activity and psychological distress for three separate groups; professionals, sales and services workers, and tradespersons. Female tradespersons who engaged in a low (B"‰="‰-"‰3.81, p"‰="‰.006) or high amount of work-related walking (B"‰="‰-"‰3.23, p"‰="‰.029), had significantly lower psychological distress symptoms than those who engaged in no work-related walking. There were no significant associations between work-related physical activity of any intensity and psychological distress for professionals, or sales and service workers. CONCLUSIONS: Given the relationship does not exist across all occupations, work-related physical activity should not be promoted above and beyond leisure-time physical activity. However, walking at work may be important in reducing psychological distress for some people and should therefore, not be discounted.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 1007 |
| Number of pages | 9 |
| Journal | BMC Public Health |
| Volume | 20 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2020 |
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- distress (psychology)
- exercise
- mental health
- occupations
- work