How do occupational sedentary behavior and occupational cognitive complexity relate to cognitive function?
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Citation
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Lower occupational cognitive complexity (OCC) and physical inactivity have been associated with advanced brain aging and cognitive decline in older adulthood. However, sedentary behavior may have a more complex relationship with cognitive function due to cognitively complex occupations often being highly sedentary.
OBJECTIVES: This study examined whether occupational sedentary time related to cognitive function. In secondary analysis, we determined whether this relationship was partially explained by higher OCC among those with higher sedentary behavior.
METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, data was utilized from the Framingham Heart Study (FHS) Generation 3 based cohorts: Third Generation, New Offspring Spouse (NOS), and Omni 2 cohorts. Our analysis included those who attended exam 2, did not have dementia, and fulfilled the neuropsychology, accelerometry, and occupation assessments (n=1,959). Sedentary time was measured objectively by an omnidirectional accelerometer and questionnaire which asked about the frequency of sitting at work. Three cognitive function assessments were used including logical memory delayed recall (LMD), total raw score from Weschler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) similarities subtest (SIM), time in minutes to finish trail A, subtracted from the time in minutes to finish trail B (TRAILSB-A). Lastly, OCC was measured as substantive cognitive complexity, using data from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Information Network (O*NET). Linear regression analyses were computed to evaluate the association between occupational sedentary time and cognitive function, including models adjusting for age, sex, education, and substantive complexity.
RESULTS: Higher accelerometer-measured sedentary time was associated with higher cognitive performance. When additionally adjusting for education and substantive complexity, sedentary time’s association with cognitive performance was attenuated and no longer significant. Participants more likely to sit as work similarly exhibited higher cognitive performance in LMD, including after adjusting for age and sex (0.61 [0.17], p=0.0004). This association was attenuated when additionally adjusting for education (0.33 [0.17], p=0.06), and furthermore when adding adjustment for substantive complexity (0.19 [0.18], p=0.30).
CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that the association of higher occupational sedentary time with higher cognitive function was partially explained by higher substantive complexity and education level. Occupations with higher OCC, often requiring more education, may contribute to cognitive resilience.