Study Reveals Best Form Of Commute To Work That Leads To Fewer Sick Days

A new study has found that people who commute to work using a bicycle, tend to take fewer sick day leaves and have a reduced risk of long-term absence due to illness. Published in the scientific journal Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports, the study states that the message to employers was clear: promote forms of commuting that involve exercise.

The study, led by a team from the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, analysed data from over 28,000 municipal workers over the course of a year. The risk of sickness absence for those who did their commute on foot or by bicycle was compared to those who travelled passively, i.e. by car or public transport was taken into account,

The most active commuters travelled more than 30 kilometres weekly and an average of 61 kilometres per week. The average one-way commute in this group was 9.4 kilometres, with the distance covered using bicycle on most occasions.

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Study findings

The study results showed that compared to passive commuters, the most active commuters had an 8-18 per cent lower risk of sickness absence days and long periods of sickness absence of at least ten days during the follow-up.

"The most active employees had one fewer period of long sickness absence of at least ten days per ten person-years than passive commuters," the study highlighted.

The researchers also found cycling to be better than walking for reducing sick days, though again the differences only appeared for those who travelled the furthest by bike. 

"In addition to the typically lower weekly number of active kilometres among walkers, the intensity of walking may be insufficient," the researchers wrote.

On average, the most active commuters had 4.5 fewer sickness absence days per person-year than passive commuters.

“There is already research evidence on the health and environmental benefits of active commuting, but its connection to the risk of long sickness absences, for example, has not been studied at all before,” said Essi Kalliolahti, lead author of the study and a PhD researcher at the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health and the University of Eastern Finland.

"Now it is known that regular commuting by bicycle can reduce the risk of long periods of sickness absence and thus reduce the overall number of sickness absences."

The study added that these low-emission commuting practices also had greater environmental benefits.