The Influence of Occupational Categories on Overall and Domain-Specific Physical Activity and the Association with Chronic Diseases. An Analysis Using the Austrian Health Interview Survey

Background : The performance of physical activity (PA) in different domains varies between different occupational groups and they contribute differently to the prevention and management of chronic diseases. This study aimed to give a fuller picture of the potential influence occupational categories have on the different domains of PA among the Austrian population of working age. Methods : A total of 8251 gainfully employed persons in 9 major and 39 sub-major occupational groups from the Austrian Health Interview Survey 2014 were analyzed. PA was measured with the Physical Activity Questionnaire of the European Health Interview Survey (EHIS-PAQ) and the prevalence of 17 chronic diseases was obtained. Results : A total of 48.2% were mostly active when working, 18.4% reported transport-related PA in the upper quintile, 50.4% performed at least 150 min per week of moderate PA or cycling, 32.7% performed muscle-strengthening PA at least twice a week, and 76.3% were either mostly physically active when working or complied with the aerobic PA guidelines. As a general rule, people in physically active occupational groups tended to perform less PA in their leisure time and vice versa. Occupational groups with especially low amount of PA were Information Technology workers, directors, and secretarial staff. People with a chronic disease tended to perform less PA, but there was an interaction between occupation and chronic disease on PA. Conclusions : Domain-specific programs to promote PA should be developed for various occupational categories.