Occupational Physical Activity and Cardiovascular Risk Factors Profile in the Adult Population of the Southern Cone of Latin America: Results From the CESCAS I Study.

Abstract

We explore the association between occupational physical activity (OPA) and cardiovascular risk factors in four cities of the Southern Cone. Robust multivariable linear regression models were used to examine the associations. The working population was constituted by 1868 men and 1672 women. Men performing high levels of OPA showed higher levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL; mean adj. diff. = 2.24 mg/dL; P = 0.004), lower levels of triglycerides (-24.59 mg/dL; P = 0.006), and total cholesterol (TC)/HDL ratio values (-0.21; P = 0.015) than reference. Women in the highest category of OPA had higher levels of HDL (2.85 mg/dL; P = 0.006), lower TC/HDL (0.27; P = 0.001), and low-density lipoprotein/HDL ratios (-0.18; P = 0.003) than sedentary activities. Individuals who performed high levels of OPA did not exhibit a worse cardiovascular risk profile and an improvement on selected biomarkers was observed when compared with those performing sedentary activities.