Associations between active commuting behaviours and blood biomarkers for cardiovascular disease

Summary

Previous research has demonstrated that active commuting (AC) to work
significantly and independently predicts objectively measured body
weight and composition and self-reported diagnosed cardiovascular
disease (CVD)-related conditions in the UK general population. This
study aims to further illuminate the relationship between AC and
CVD-related biomarkers using novel Understanding Society blood analyte
data.
Nurse health assessment data from the Understanding Society general
population sample (wave 2) and the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS,
wave 3) subsamples were combined with relevant mainstage data. AC was
operationalised as a 3-category variable (private, public and active
transportation modes). Three CVD-related blood analyte outcomes were
identified: (1) Total cholesterol (dichotomised using ≤5mmol/l
cut-point); (2) High-density Lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol (dichotomised
at >1mmol/l); (3) triglycerides (dichotomised at <2mmol/l). Hypothesised socioeconomic, behavioural, health-related and demographic confounders were identified. Gender-stratified nested multivariate logistic regression models were fitted for each outcome using appropriate p-weights. A complete-case analysis approach yielded an analytic sample size of 4210. Compared to their private or public transport using counterparts, male active commuters were significantly more likely to have protective levels of HDL cholesterol (OR 2.79, CI 1.58 to 4.95, fully adjusted). Women who commuted via active modes were significantly less likely to have elevated triglyceride levels (OR 0.70, 95% CI 0.50 to 0.98, fully adjusted). After adjustment for hypothesised confounders, no significant association was found between commuting mode and total cholesterol for men or women. Active commuting (AC) has been promoted as a way of addressing the population health effects of increasingly sedentary lifestyles in Western settings. This study contributes novel findings to the evidence base on active travel and CVD risk.