Workplace Exposures and Cognitive Function During Adulthood: Evidence From National Survey of Midlife Development and the O*NET.

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.