Lifestyle parameters of Japanese agricultural and non-agricultural workers aged 60 years or older and less than 60 years: A cross-sectional observational study

Abstract

Objectives Improving the lifestyle of occupational workers is essential for extending healthy life expectancy. We investigated various lifestyle-related items in a rural Japanese population and compared them between agricultural and non-agricultural workers. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted as a part of the “Iwaki Health Promotion Project.” Lifestyle-related items such as sleep, work hours, nutrition, health-related quality of life, and proportion of time spent performing each daily activity were compared between agricultural and non-agricultural workers in the ≥60 years (n = 251) and <60 years (n = 560) age groups. Results Agricultural workers had significantly lower Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index total scores than non-agricultural workers in the <60 years group. The proportion of participants with more than 5 weekly working days was high among agricultural workers in both groups. Additionally, the proportion of people who worked more than 8 h per day was high among agricultural workers in both age groups. Energy intake per day was high among agricultural workers in the <60 years group. In both age groups, agricultural workers slept and woke up approximately 40 min earlier than did non-agricultural workers. Conclusions Agricultural workers have better sleep habits but work longer than non-agricultural workers, with some differences in energy intake and proportion of time spent on each daily activity. These differences should be considered when planning lifestyle intervention programs for agricultural workers.