Among the many factors suggested as potential sources of variation in the rate of ageing of the pubic symphysis is occupational/physical activity, but this has yet to be demonstrated. This study's main goal is to determine whether occupational/physical activity influences the aging process in the pubic symphysis. We analyzed a sample of 161 males (18-96 years) from two Portuguese identified skeletal collections, where age-related features were recorded in the pubic symphysis as absent/present. The sample was divided in two groups according to the occupation of the individuals (manual and non-manual) and in two groups according to the femoral robusticity index (robust and gracile). The manual and robust groups represent individuals with more physically demanding occupations while the non-manual and gracile groups represent less physically demanding occupations. The possible influence of occupational/physical activity on the rate of ageing was evaluated by comparing the transition age for each age-related feature, between the two groups, using logistic regression. Only the ligamentous outgrowths on the ventral beveling showed a statistically significant younger age in the robust group, indicating a possible faster rate or early timing of change in the individuals with a more physically demanding activity compared with their gracile counterparts. Thus, these results do not provide significant support to the hypothesis that individuals with a greater demanding occupation or physical activity show greater pubic symphysis degeneration. Further testing of this hypothesis in other samples with individuals from known occupation is required.
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