Longitudinal Associations of Effort and Reward at Work with Changes in Cognitive Function: Evidence from a National Study of U.S. Workers

Details

• Personal Author:
  Arah OA ; Guardiano M ; Li J ; Liu S ; Matthews TA ; Siegrist J
• Description:
  Purpose: This study aimed to examine longitudinal associations of workplace effort and reward with changes in cognitive function among United States workers. Methods: Data from the national, population-based Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study with a 9-year follow-up were used. Validated workplace effort and reward scales were measured at baseline, and cognitive outcomes (including composite cognition, episodic memory, and executive functioning) were measured with the Brief Test of Adult Cognition by Telephone (BTACT) at baseline and follow-up. Multivariable linear regression analyses based on generalized estimating equations (GEE) examined the longitudinal associations under study. Results: Among this worker sample of 1,399, after accounting for demographics, socioeconomics, lifestyle behaviors, health conditions, and job control, high reward at baseline was associated with increased composite cognition (regression coefficient: 0.118 [95% CI: 0.049, 0.187]), episodic memory (0.106 [0.024, 0.188]), and executive functioning (0.123 [0.055, 0.191]) during follow-up. The joint exposure of 'high effort and high reward' was also associated with increased composite cognition (0.130 [0.030, 0.231]), episodic memory (0.131 [0.012, 0.250]), and executive functioning (0.117 [0.017, 0.216]), while the combination of 'low effort and high reward' was associated with increased composite cognition (0.106 [0.009, 0.204]) and executive functioning (0.139 [0.042, 0.235]). Conclusion: Findings suggest that workplace high reward is related to improved cognitive scores among United States workers. Future research should investigate larger cohorts over longer timespans and expand into disease outcomes such as dementia. If these findings emerge as causal, relevant workplace rewards to promote worker cognitive health should be considered. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Behavior Cohort Studies Nervous System Occupational Health Safety Stress, Psychological
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Cognition Cognitive Function Cohort Studies Effort-reward Imbalance Employee Health Episodic Memory Executive Functioning Job Stress Longitudinal Study Psychosocial Factors Psychosocial Work Factors Work Stress

  More +
• ISSN:
  0340-0131
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  California ; OSHA Region 9
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  97
• Issue:
  7
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20070099
• Citation:
  Int Arch Occup Environ Health 2024 Sep; 97(7):745-755
• Contact Point Address:
  Jian Li, School of Nursing, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095
• Email:
  jianli2019@ucla.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2024
• Performing Organization:
  University of California Los Angeles
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health
• End Date:
  20270630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:a8db9f7d55c283b4072ac60f02ba900aa5930a4af37a1b75a1fec58fc860eac3690b924350680e605300f9865bbb31e7444480ea4a107daeb0b87a1599fe2552
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/208392/cdc_208392_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.20 MB ]