Several studies have established associations between long commuting hours and the risk of stress and hypertension. This study aims to evaluate the risk of incident cardiovascular disease, cancer, and mortality associated with active commuting.
This prospective population-based cohort study included a total of 263,450 participants (52% women, mean age 52.6). The mode of transportation, including walking, cycling, or both (mixed) and non-active (car or public transport), was considered. The primary outcome of the study was incident cardiovascular disease (fatal and non-fatal), cancer, and all-cause and cause-specific mortality.
During a median follow-up of 5.0 years, 2,430 participants died, including 496 from cardiovascular disease and 1,126 from cancer. In addition, 1,110 cardiovascular events and 3,748 events were also reported. Multivariable analysis indicated that commuting by cycle or mixed transport was associated with a lower risk of all-cause mortality (cycling HR: 0.59, mixed HR 0.76), cancer incidence (0.55, 0.64), cancer mortality (0.60, 0.68), and cardiovascular disease incidence. No significant associations were discovered between walking, non-active transport, and the risk of cancer incidence, cardiovascular disease incidence, and all-cause mortality.
The research concluded that cycle commute was related to a lower risk of the incidence of cardiovascular disease, cancer, and all-cause mortality.
Ref: https://www.bmj.com/content/357/bmj.j1456
