Although leisure time exercise is associated with a lower risk of all-cause mortality and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), the risk of both increases with higher levels of physical activity at work, a study suggests.

Danish researchers examined data on 104,046 adults who participated in the Copenhagen General Population Study with baseline assessments conducted from 2003-14.

Over a median follow-up of 10 years, researchers identified nearly 8000 (7.6%) instances of MACE and almost 10,000 (9.5%) fatalities from all causes.

Compared to participants with the lowest levels of physical activity at work, people had a 27% higher risk of death when they had very high levels of physical activity in their job.