The long-term effects of leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) on job strain have not been assessed in a large prospective population-based cohort study.
To examine the relationship between the LTPA and the prevalence of job strain.
The participants were 861 full-time employees (406 men and 455 women), aged 24-39 years in 2001, from the ongoing Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study. LTPA was assessed using a self-report questionnaire in 1992 and in 2001. The participants were grouped into four categories according to tertiles of LTPA index at two time points: persistently active, increasingly active, decreasingly active and persistently inactive. Job strain was measured in 2001 by indicators of job demands and job control.
Baseline LTPA was inversely associated with job strain (P