Active commuters who cycle or walk to work have lower risks for morbidity and mortality, according to a study published online July 16 in BMJ Public Health.
Catherine Friel, from the University of Glasgow in the United Kingdom, and colleagues examined prospective associations with multiple health outcomes over 18 years for pedestrians and cyclists using data for 82,297 individuals aged 16 to 74 years from the Scottish Longitudinal Study. Cyclist and pedestrian commuters were compared to nonactive commuters for a range of health outcomes.
The researchers found that cyclist commuting was associated with lower risks for all-cause mortality, any hospitalization, cardiovascular disease (CVD) hospitalization, and having a CVD prescription compared with nonactive commuting (hazard ratios, 0.53, 0.90, 0.76, and 0.70, respectively) and with lower risks for cancer mortality, cancer hospitalization, and having a prescription for mental health problems (hazard ratios, 0.49, 0.76, and 0.80, respectively). Pedestrian commuting was associated with lower risks for any hospitalization, CVD hospitalization, having a CVD prescription, and having a mental health prescription (hazard ratios, 0.91, 0.90, 0.90 and 0.93, respectively).
“These findings provide direct evidence of the health benefits of active commuting in a Scottish context, supporting current policy,” the authors write. “This study has wider global relevance to efforts to reduce carbon emissions and to shift to more active and sustainable travel modes.”
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