Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Apr;94(3):451-458.
doi: 10.1007/s00420-020-01595-6. Epub 2020 Oct 30.

Physical activity and ability to meet different work requirements among adult working men with or without current depressive symptoms

Ville Päivärinne  1 , Marie Thodén  2 , Hannu Kautiainen  3   4 , Jari Arokoski  2 , Hannu Koponen  5 , Ari Heinonen  6 , Ilkka Kiviranta  7
Affiliations

Physical activity and ability to meet different work requirements among adult working men with or without current depressive symptoms

Ville Päivärinne et al. Int Arch Occup Environ Health. 2021 Apr.

Abstract

Purpose: To examine the relationship between leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) and ability to meet different work requirements among adult working men with or without current depressive symptoms.

Methods: We measured LTPA with the long version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). The Work Ability Index (WAI) and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) were used to assess the work ability and depression of 921 Finnish employed male volunteers. Participants were divided into three groups according to the WAI for their work requirements: mental (MENT), physical (PHYS), and an equal amount of mental and physical work (BTH).

Results: When adjusted for age, BMI and employment years, there was a significant difference in weekly LTPA between WAI groups {p = 0.003, [F (2902) = 5.58]}, but not for depression. It appeared that participants with depressive symptoms scored lower WAI in each group regardless of LTPA. In addition, a linear relationship was found between higher LTPA and WAI in nondepressed workers in the PHYS [p = 0.011, β = 0.10 (95% CI 0.03-0.18)] and BTH [p = 0.027, β = 0.19 (95% CI 0.03-0.34)] groups. Among workers with depressive symptoms, similar linearity was found in BTH [p = 0.003, β = 0.20 (95% CI 0.03-0.55)]. In group-wise comparison, work requirements {p = 0.001, [F (2902) = 11.2]} and depressive symptoms {p < 0.001, [F (1902) = 177.0]} related with lower WAI.

Conclusion: Depressive symptoms were associated with lower work ability regardless of the job description. Therefore, higher levels of weekly LTPA was linked with better work ability among nondepressed working men. Workers with depressive symptoms in jobs that require extensive mental or physical work might need more than exercise to improve work ability.

Keywords: Depressive symptoms; Physical activity; Questionnaires; Work ability.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) and Work Ability Index (WAI) in terms of work requirements (adjusted for age, BMI and employment years) and depressive symptoms. Percentages with 95% confidence intervals with (black square) or without (open square) depressive symptoms are shown. MENT Mental work, PHYS physical work, BTH an equal amount of mental and physical work
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Relationships between the leisure-time physical activity tertiles and depressive symptoms in terms of work requirements (adjusted for age, BMI, and employment years). MENT mental work, PHYS physical work, BTH an equal amount of mental and physical work
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. American Psychiatric Association . Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: DSM-IV-TR. 4. Washington, DC, USA: American Psychiatric Association; 2000.
    1. Aromaa A, Koskinen S (2004). Health and Functional capacity in Finland: baseline results of the health 2000 health examination survey. Publications of the National Public Health Institute. https://www.ktl.fi/health2000/index.uk.html. Accessed 11 Jun 2020
    1. Asztalos M, Wijndaele K, De Bourdeaudhuij I, Philippaerts R, Matton L, Duvigneaud N, et al. Specific associations between types of physical activity and components of mental health. J Sci Med Sport. 2008;12(4):468–474. doi: 10.1016/j.jsams.2008.06.009. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Asztalos M, Wijndaele K, De Bourdeaudhuij I, Philippaerts R, Matton L, Duvigneaud N, et al. Sport participation and stress among women and men. Psychol Sport Exerc. 2012;13(4):466–483. doi: 10.1016/j.psychsport.2012.01.003. - DOI
    1. Battams S, Roche A, Fischer J, Lee N, Cameron J, Kostadinov V. Workplace risk factors for anxiety and depression in male-dominated industries: a systematic review. Health Psychol Behav Med. 2014;2(1):983–1008. doi: 10.1080/21642850.2014.954579. - DOI - PMC - PubMed