Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34284795›Full record

SynthesisThe international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity2021

The effect of leisure time physical activity and sedentary behaviour on the health of workers with different occupational physical activity demands: a systematic review.

Stephanie A Prince, Charlotte Lund Rasmussen, Aviroop Biswas, Andreas Holtermann, Tarnbir Aulakh, Katherine Merucci, Pieter Coenen

Open access · goldAbstract readSystematic Review
In one paragraph

Synthesis in The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 78 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
78citing papers in PubMed, 6 pooled it
12.7field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

78 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 151 citations in OpenAlex.

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  16. The physical activity health paradox: what is it, why might it happen, and where to go from here?The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2026
    Review
  17. Article
  18. Article
  19. Guangdong Biobank Cohort (GDBC) study.European journal of epidemiology · 2026
    Article
  20. Article

18 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 6 institutions in 3 countries.

Stephanie A PrinceCentre for Surveillance and Applied Research, Public Health Agency of Canada, 785 Carling Avenue, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0K9, Canada. stephanie.princeware@canada.ca.ORCID 0000-0001-6729-5649
Charlotte Lund RasmussenNational Research Centre for the Working Environment, Copenhagen, Denmark.ORCID 0000-0003-2193-5019
Aviroop BiswasInstitute for Work & Health, Toronto, Canada.ORCID 0000-0002-0393-6280
Andreas HoltermannNational Research Centre for the Working Environment, Copenhagen, Denmark.ORCID 0000-0003-4825-5697
Tarnbir AulakhSchool of Kinesiology and Health Studies, Queen's University, Kingston, Canada.ORCID 0000-0003-3666-8267
Katherine MerucciHealth Library, Health Canada, Ottawa, Canada.ORCID 0000-0003-1981-7013
Pieter CoenenDepartment of Public and Occupational Health, Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.ORCID 0000-0002-4034-7063
National Research Centre for the Working Environment · DKAmsterdam University Medical Centers · NLHealth Canada · CAPublic Health Agency of Canada · CAQueen's University · CAUniversity of Toronto · CA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundAlthough it is generally accepted that physical activity reduces the risk for chronic non-communicable disease and mortality, accumulating evidence suggests that occupational physical activity (OPA) may not confer the same health benefits as leisure time physical activity (LTPA). It is also unclear if workers in high OPA jobs benefit from LTPA the same way as those in sedentary jobs. Our objective was to determine whether LTPA and leisure time sedentary behaviour (LTSB) confer the same health effects across occupations with different levels of OPA.

methodsSearches were run in Medline, Embase, PsycINFO, ProQuest Public Health and Scopus from inception to June 9, 2020. Prospective or experimental studies which examined the effects of LTPA or LTSB on all-cause and cardiovascular mortality and cardiovascular disease, musculoskeletal pain, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, arrhythmias and depression among adult workers grouped by OPA (low OPA/sitters, standers, moderate OPA/intermittent movers, high OPA/heavy labourers) were eligible. Results were synthesized using narrative syntheses and harvest plots, and certainty of evidence assessed with GRADE.

resultsThe review includes 38 papers. Across all outcomes, except cardiovascular mortality, metabolic syndrome and atrial fibrillation, greater LTPA was consistently protective among low OPA, but conferred less protection among moderate and high OPA. For cardiovascular mortality and metabolic syndrome, higher levels of LTPA were generally associated with similar risk reductions among all OPA groups. Few studies examined effects in standers and none examined effects of LTSB across OPA groups.

conclusionsEvidence suggests that LTPA is beneficial for all workers, but with larger risk reductions among those with low compared to high OPA jobs. This suggests that, in our attempts to improve the health of workers through LTPA, tailored interventions for different occupational groups may be required. More high-quality studies are needed to establish recommended levels of LTPA/LTSB for different OPA groups. PROTOCOL REGISTRATION: PROSPERO # CRD42020191708 .

Indexed as

ExerciseLeisure ActivitiesSedentary BehaviorAdultEmploymentHumansMotor ActivityOccupationsProspective StudiesStress, PsychologicalWorkWorkloadCardiovascular diseaseLeisureMortalityOccupationPhysical activitySedentary behaviour

Identifiers

PMID34284795
PMCPMC8290554
OpenAlexW3186206870

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.