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.

OBJECTIVE: We explore the association between occupational physical activity (OPA) and cardiovascular risk factors in four cities of the Southern Cone.

METHODS: Robust multivariable linear regression models were used to examine the associations.

RESULTS: 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.

CONCLUSION: 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.