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Sedentary Time and Physical Activity Across Occupational Classifications

To examine differences in activity patterns across employment and occupational classifications. Cross-sectional. A 2005-2006 Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study. Participants with valid accelerometry data (n = 2068). Uniaxial accelerometry data (ActiGraph 7164), accumulated during waking hours, were summarized as mean activity counts (counts/min) and time spent (min/d) in long-bout sedentary (≥30 minutes, SED≥30), short-bout sedentary (<30 minutes, SED<30), light physical activity (LPA), short-bout moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (<10 minutes, MVPA<10), and long-bout MVPA (≥10 minutes, MVPA≥10) using Freedson cut-points. Employment status was self-reported as full time, part time, unemployed, keeping house, or raising children. Self-reported job duties were categorized into 23 major groups using the 2010 Standard Occupational Classification. Omnibus differences were analyzed using adjusted analysis of covariance and repeated after stratification by race (black/white) and sex (female/male). SED≥30, SED<30, LPA, and MVPA<10 differed significantly by employment and occupational categories (P ≤ .05), while MVPA≥10 did not (P ≥ .50). SED≥30, SED<30, and LPA differed by occupational classification in men, women, blacks, and whites (P < .05). Mean activity counts, MVPA<10, and MVPA≥10 were significantly different across occupational classifications in whites (P ≤ .05), but not in blacks (P > .05). Significant differences in mean activity counts and MVPA<10 across occupational classifications were found in males (P ≤ .001), but not in females (P > .05). Time within activity intensity categories differs across employment and occupational classifications and by race and sex.

Authors: Quinn TD; Pettee Gabriel K; Siddique J; Aaby D; Whitaker KM; Lane-Cordova A; Sidney S; Sternfield B; Barone Gibbs B

Am J Health Promot. 2020 03;34(3):247-256. Epub 2019-11-14.

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