Leisure-time Physical Activity And Incidence Of High Occupational Stress: A Cohort Study Of Workers In Japan

PURPOSE: Although previous studies indicated that lower levels of leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) were associated with higher prevalences of high perceived occupational stress, their causality relationship in cross-sectional studies is uncertain. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the effects of LTPA levels on the incidence of high perceived occupational stress among workers in Japan. METHODS: This cohort study included 3,682 workers (19% women, median age 46 years) in Japan. All participants were invited to complete the self-administered questionnaire annually from 2017 to 2021, and only those without high perceived occupational stress at baseline were included in this study. Levels of LTPA were divided into “never”, “seasonal”, “monthly”, “weekly” and “semi-weekly” groups based on responses of LTPA frequency (never, only specific seasons, 1-2 times per month, once a week, more than twice a week). Perceived occupational stress was evaluated using the Brief Job Stress Questionnaire including Mental and Physical Stress Response (MPSR), Work Stressors (WS), and Surrounding Support (SS). High occupational stress was identified by MPSR ≥77, WS ≥76, or SS ≥63. Multivariable logistic regression was used to estimate the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the incidence of high occupational stress after adjusting for age, sex, smoking habits (non-smoker, previous smoker, smoker, and other), drinking habits (never, < 3 times/week, 3 − 5 times/week, and ≥ 6 times/week), sleeping duration (≥ 6 hours and < 6 hours), and medical histories (presence of non-communicable diseases). RESULTS: There were 446 (12%) cases of high perceived occupational stress. Compared with the “never” group, the fully adjusted ORs (95% CIs) for incident high perceived occupational stress were 0.83 (0.56-1.12), 0.77 (0.56-1.06), 0.86 (0.63-1.18), and 0.66 (0.47-0.93) in the “seasonal”, “monthly”, “weekly” and “semi-weekly” groups, respectively (P for trend = 0.012), after adjusting for potential confounders. CONCLUSION: In this cohort study, higher levels of LTPA were significantly associated with a lower incidence of high perceived occupational stress among workers in Japan.