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

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