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Workplace Exposures and Cognitive Function During Adulthood: Evidence From National Survey of Midlife Development and
Joseph G Grzywacz1, Dikla Segel-Karpas, Margie E Lachman
1Department of Family and Child Sciences, Florida State University, Tallahassee (Dr Grzywacz); Department of Gerontology, The University of Haifa (Dr Segel-Karpas); and Department of Psychology, Brandeis University, Boston, Massachusetts (Dr Lachman).
Objective:
Expand understanding of the role of selected workplace exposures (ie, occupational complexity, conflict in the workplace, pace of work, and physical hazards) in adults' cognitive function.
Methods:
Cross-sectional data (n = 1991) from the second wave of the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study; restricted to participants who completed telephone-based cognitive assessments of episodic memory, executive functioning, and self-perceived memory. Occupational exposure data were harvested from the ONET Release 6.0.
Results:
Greater complexity was associated with better self-perceived memory among women and men, and better episodic memory and executive functioning among women. Greater physical hazards were independently associated with poorer episodic memory and executive functioning.
Conclusions:
Objective assessments of physical and psychosocial exposures in the workplace are independently associated with cognitive outcomes in adulthood, with psychosocial exposures being particularly pronounced among women.
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