Use of sugar in coffee and tea and long-term risk of mortality in older adult Danish men: 32 years of follow-up from a prospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Tea and coffee are the most consumed beverages worldwide and very often sweetened with sugar. However, the association between the use of sugar in tea or coffee and adverse events is currently unclear. OBJECTIVES: To investigate the association between the addition of sugar to coffee or tea, and the risk of all-cause mortality, cardiovascular mortality, cancer mortality and incident diabetes mellitus. METHODS: Participants from the prospective Copenhagen Male Study, included from 1985 to 1986, without cardiovascular disease, cancer or diabetes mellitus at inclusion, who reported regular coffee or tea consumption were included. Self-reported number of cups of coffee and tea and use of sugar were derived from the study questionnaires. Quantity of sugar use was not reported. Primary outcome was all-cause mortality and secondary endpoints were cardiovascular mortality, cancer mortality and incident diabetes mellitus, all assessed through the Danish national registries. The association between adding sugar and all-cause mortality was analyzed by Cox regression analysis. Age, smoking status, daily alcohol intake, systolic blood pressure, body mass index, number of cups of coffee and/or tea consumed per day and socioeconomic status were included as covariates. Vital status of patients up and until 22.03.2017 was assessed. Sugar could be added to either coffee, tea or both. RESULTS: In total, 2923 men (mean age at inclusion: 63±5 years) were included, of which 1007 (34.5%) added sugar. In 32 years of follow-up, 2581 participants (88.3%) died, 1677 in the non-sugar group (87.5%) versus 904 in the sugar group (89.9%). Hazard ratio of the sugar group compared to the non-sugar group was 1.06 (95% CI 0.98;1.16) for all-cause mortality. An interaction term between number of cups of coffee and/or tea per day and adding sugar was 0.99 (0.96;1.01). A subgroup analysis of coffee-only drinkers showed a hazard ratio of 1.11 (0.99;1.26). The interaction term was 0.98 (0.94;1.02). Hazard ratios for the sugar group compared to the non-sugar group were 1.11 (95% CI 0.97;1.26) for cardiovascular disease mortality, 1.01 (95% CI 0.87;1.17) for cancer mortality and 1.04 (95% CI 0.79;1.36) for incident diabetes mellitus. CONCLUSION: In the present population of Danish men, use of sugar in tea and/or coffee was not significantly associated with increased risk of mortality or incident diabetes.

Physical Work Demands of Maintenance Workers on Onshore Petroleum Facilities in Norway: An Observational Study Utilizing Wearable Sensor Technology.

OBJECTIVES: High physical work demands can cause musculoskeletal disorders and sick leave in petroleum workers. However, our knowledge of their physical work demands is scarce and based on self-report. The objective of our study is to work towards closing this knowledge gap by assessing the physical work demands of onshore petroleum maintenance workers using body-worn sensors. METHODS: A total of 46 of 69 eligible maintenance workers (37 mechanics and 9 process technicians) from three onshore petroleum facilities in Norway filled in a questionnaire and diary and wore five accelerometers and a heart rate sensor for up to six consecutive workdays. Work-related physical activity and postures were classified using rule-based modelling in a modified version of the validated Acti4 software. RESULTS: The onshore maintenance petroleum workers were working an average of 10 h a day and spent on average this time with 48% (SD = 16.5) sitting, 1% (SD = 2.8) lying down, 39% (SD = 16.2) in light physical activity, and 9% (SD = 3.8) in moderate to vigorous physical activity. During work hours while at feet, we found arm elevation ≥60° to be 11% (SD = 7.1) (68 min), and forward bending of the trunk ≥60° to be 2% (SD = 2.2) (14 min). The workers spent 2% (SD = 2.5) (12 minu) of the workhours kneeling. We observed a high inter-individual variation for all these work exposures. Moreover, 26% (12) of the workers conducted static standing for >30% of the workday, and 17% (8) spent more than half of the work hours >33% of their estimated maximal cardiovascular capacity. CONCLUSIONS: While onshore maintenance petroleum workers on average spend about half of the workday sitting or lying down, the remaining worktime is spent with a rather high duration of arm elevation and forward bending. Quite high fraction of the workers spends much of the workhours in static standing and kneeling. We see a substantial variation in these work exposures between the workers. The findings indicate a need for preventive measures in how work is organized and performed.

Can occupational health professionals successfully apply the Goldilocks Work Paradigm in a simulated work redesign?

This study aimed to assess occupational health professionals' application of the Goldilocks Work Paradigm in redesigning jobs for healthier physical behaviours while maintaining productivity. During a group simulation exercise, participants (n = 16) created job descriptions for four different occupation cases (factory worker, office worker, teacher, train driver) and then redesigned the jobs using the Paradigm. Substantial changes in the time spent in sitting (9-30%), standing (8-42%), walking (6-14%), and high-intensity (0-24%) physical behaviours were achieved, which if implemented would likely result in enhanced health for workers. Overall, occupational health professionals were able to successfully redesign fictitious jobs aligned with the Goldilocks Work Paradigm. The simulation task used in this study may be useful to train professionals and assist workplaces to understand and implement the Goldilocks Work Paradigm into practice.Practitioner summary: This study assessed whether occupational health professionals could be trained in the Goldilocks Work Paradigm through a job redesign simulation task. Participants were able to redesign jobs to achieve a healthier 'just right' balance of physical behaviours. Simulations may help workplaces understand and implement a Goldilocks Work approach into practice.

Day-to-day pattern of work and leisure time physical behaviours: are low socioeconomic status adults couch potatoes or work warriors?

BACKGROUND: Most studies on day-to-day patterns of physical behaviours (i.e. physical activities and sedentary behaviour) are based on adults with high socioeconomic status (SES) and without differentiating between work and leisure time. Thus, we aimed to characterise the day-to-day leisure time physical behaviours patterns among low SES adults and investigate the influence of work physical behaviours. METHODS: This cross-sectional study included 963 adults from low SES occupations (e.g. manufacturing, cleaning and transportation). The participants wore accelerometers for 1-7 days to measure physical behaviours during work and leisure time, expressed as time-use compositions consisting of time spent sedentary, standing or being active (walking, running, stair climbing, or cycling). Compositional multivariate multilevel models were used to regress daily leisure time-use composition against work time-use compositions. Interaction between weekday and (1) type of day, (i.e., work/non-work) and (2) the work time-use composition were tested. Compositional isotemporal substitution was used to interpret the estimates from the models. RESULTS: Each weekday, workers consistently spent most leisure time being sedentary and most work time standing. Leisure time physical behaviours were associated with type of day (p < 0.005, more sedentary on workdays vs. non-workdays), weekday (p < 0.005, more sedentary on Friday, Saturday and Sunday), standing work (p < 0.005, more sedentary and less standing and active leisure time on Sunday), and active work (p < 0.005, less sedentary and more standing and active leisure time on Sunday). Sedentary leisure time increased by 18 min, while standing and active leisure time decreased by 11 and 7 min, respectively, when 30 min were reallocated to standing at work on Sunday. Conversely, sedentary leisure time decreased by 25 min, and standing and active leisure time increased by 15 and 10 min, respectively, when 30 min were reallocated to active time at work on Sunday. CONCLUSIONS: While low SES adults' leisure time was mostly sedentary, their work time was predominantly standing. Work physical behaviours differently influenced day-to-day leisure time behaviours. Thus, public health initiatives aiming to change leisure time behaviours among low SES adults should consider the influence of work physical behaviours.

Active biofeedback changes the spatial distribution of upper trapezius muscle activity during computer work.

The aim of this study was to investigate the spatio-temporal effects of advanced biofeedback by inducing active and passive pauses on the trapezius activity pattern using high-density surface electromyography (HD-EMG). Thirteen healthy male subjects performed computer work with superimposed feedback either eliciting passive (rest) or active (approximately 30% MVC) pauses based on fuzzy logic design and a control session with no feedback. HD-EMG signals of upper trapezius were recorded using a 5 x 13 multichannel electrode grid. From the HD-EMG recordings, two-dimensional maps of root mean square (RMS), relative rest time (RRT) and permuted sample entropy (PeSaEn) were obtained. The centre of gravity (CoG) and entropy of maps were used to quantify changes in the spatial distribution of muscle activity. PeSaEn as a measure of temporal heterogeneity for each channel, decreased over the whole map in response to active pause (P < 0.05) underlining a more homogenous activation pattern. Concomitantly, the CoG of RRT maps moved in caudal direction and the entropy of RMS maps as a measure of spatial heterogeneity over the whole recording grid, increased in response to active pause session compared with control session (no feedback) (P < 0.05). Active pause compared with control resulted in more heterogeneous coordination of trapezius compared with no feedback implying a more uneven spatial distribution of the biomechanical load. The study introduced new aspects in relation to the potential benefit of superimposed muscle contraction in relation to the spatial organization of muscle activity during computer work.

Advanced biofeedback from surface electromyography signals using fuzzy system.

The aims of this study were to develop a fuzzy inference-based biofeedback system and investigate its effects when inducing active (shoulder elevation) and passive (relax) pauses on the trapezius muscle electromyographic (EMG) activity during computer work. Surface EMG signals were recorded from clavicular, descending (bilateral) and ascending parts of the trapezius muscles during computer work. The fuzzy system readjusted itself based on the history of previous inputs. The effect of feedback was assessed in terms of muscle activation regularity and amplitude. Active pause resulted in non-uniform muscle activity changes in the trapezius muscle depicted by increase and decrease of permuted sample entropy in ascending and clavicular parts of trapezius, respectively (P < 0.05) compared with no pause. Concomitantly, the normalized root mean square of EMG increased approximately 5% in descending part of trapezius bilaterally (P < 0.01). These findings confirm that advanced feedback can change the pattern of muscle activation.