Occupational physical activity and all‐cause and cardiovascular disease mortality: Results from two longitudinal studies in Switzerland

Background Research regarding the effects of occupational physical activity on health remains inconsistent. We analyzed the association of occupational physical activity with all‐cause and cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality. Methods We analyzed two cohorts with baseline assessments from 1977 to 1993 (“National Research Program 1A” (NRP1A) and “MONItoring of trends and determinants in CArdiovascular disease" [MONICA]) and mortality follow‐up until 2015 using adjusted Cox regression models. Results We included 4396 NRP1A participants (137 793 person‐years of follow‐up, 1541 deaths) and 5780 MONICA participants (135 410 person‐years, 1158 deaths). All‐cause mortality was higher for men in the high compared with the low occupational physical activity category according to NRP1A (hazard ratio [HR] 1.25, 95% confidence intervals [CI] 1.05‐1.50). CVD mortality was higher for men in the moderate compared with the low occupational physical activity category according to MONICA (HR, 1.41; 95% CI, 1.03‐1.91). Results for women were not statistically significant. Conclusions We observed higher total and CVD mortality risks in men with higher occupational physical activity but inconsistent results for women and across cohorts.