Associations of health-related parameters and occupational sitting time assessed by Worker’s Living Activity-time Questionnaire (JNIOSH-WLAQ)

Abstract

This study examined the association between occupational sedentary behavior (SB) and health-related parameters.We assessed 119 Japanese workers (age: 44.6±7.7 years) using by the Worker’s Living Activity-time Questionnaire(WLAQ) to determine occupational sitting time. Cardiorespiratory fitness (VO2max), blood values by health checkup within 1-year, and depression symptoms (Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale; CES-D) were measured.In order to examine the associations between the amount of occupational SB and health-related risks, the participants were categorized into two groups of occupational sitting time: short group (less than 80% of working time) and long group (80% or more). In the male workers, there were significant differences between the groups for VO2max and HDL cholesterol. Among the female workers, significant differences were not observed between the groups for VO2max, but were found for HDL cholesterol. No significant association was found between occupational SB and CES-D in both male and female workers. These findings suggest that prolonged SB at work assessed by WLAQ was associated with an increased health risk, particularly for lipid metabolism in the current study. The WLAQ can be a reliable resource for future epidemiological survey and intervention research to improve occupational SB.