Occupational stress is associated with poorer memory and smaller hippocampal volume.
Jobs can provide crucial support for cognitive functioning through intellectual and social enrichment. They are also associated with poorer cognitive ability in midlife and retirement through physical and psychological stress. This study used the Brain Aging: Occupational Stimulation and Stress (BOSS) model in a randomised controlled exercise trial in order to relate occupational characteristics to hippocampal volume and cognitive function in healthy aging. Participants (N = 247) aged between 60 and 80 years completed a series of demographic, health, neuroimaging, cognitive and cardiorespiratory assessments. Physical stress – operationalised as physical demands and work conditions – was associated with smaller hippocampal volume and poorer memory performance. These results were found to be independent of socioeconomic factors, early-life education, job title and income. The researchers recommended considering occupational experiences in order to understand individual trajectories of cognitive and brain ageing.
doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2020.00266
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