Association Between Active Commuting and Cardiometabolic Diseases in Primary Health Care Users

ABSTRACT

Abstract Background Although active commuting is inversely related to cardiovascular disease risk factors, these associations are unknown among Brazilian primary health care users. Objective To investigate the association between active commuting to daily activities and the prevalence of cardiometabolic diseases. Methods This cross-sectional study, conducted between May and August 2019, included primary health care users from all 34 primary health care centers in Passo Fundo, a city in southern Brazil. Cardiometabolic diseases (type 2 diabetes, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, hypertriglyceridemia, cardiovascular diseases, and overweight/obesity) were measured by self-reported medical diagnosis using a questionnaire. Active commuting was analyzed dichotomously daily commuting on foot or by bicycle was considered active, while daily commuting by car, motorcycle, or bus was considered passive. To determine the association between cardiometabolic diseases and active commuting, crude and adjusted prevalence ratios (PR) were estimated using Poisson regression, considering p <0.05 significant. Results The sample consisted of 1443 patients. There was an inverse association between active commuting and type 2 diabetes (PR 0.59; 95% CI [Confidence Interval] 0.39-0.90) and overweight/obesity (PR 0.83 95% CI 0.71-0.98). Conclusion A lower prevalence of type 2 diabetes and obesity/overweight was observed in people who actively commute. These findings indicate that changes in urban infrastructure to enable safe active commuting will positively impact the health of the population.