Abstract 15214: Commuting by Public Transportation is Associated With Lower Prevalence of Excess Body Weight, Hypertension, and Diabetes

Abstract

Background: Physical activity reduces body weight and incidence of diabetes mellitus (DM). We examined associations of commuting mode with prevalence of excess body weight, hypertension and DM. Methods: We studied 16,397 subjects who had the annual health checkup offered to adult citizens of Moriguchi city, Osaka, Japan in 2012. The subjects were asked about their work (Is your work physically active, sedentary or "cannot say"?) and commuting mode (walking or cycling / bus or train / car driving). Odds ratios (OR) of prevalence of excess body weight (body mass index >25.0 kg/m 2 ), hypertension, and DM with 95% confidence intervals (CI) relative to the car driving group were calculated using logistic regression analyses adjusted for clinical variables. Results: There were 5,908 eligible workers. Characteristics of the subjects according to commuting mode are presented in the table. Compared to the car driving group, logistic regression analyses showed that the public transportation group had a significantly lower prevalence of excess body weight (OR=0.56, 95% CI=0.45 to 0.69, p<0.0001) after adjustment for basic covariates (age, sex, smoking status, hypercholesterolemia, and physical activity of work) and hypertension, a significantly lower prevalence of hypertension (OR=0.73, 95% CI=0.59 to 0.90, p=0.0035) after adjustment for basic covariates and excess body weight, and a significantly lower prevalence of DM (OR=0.66, 95% CI=0.44 to 0.99, p=0.0427) after adjustment for basic covariates, hypertension, excess body weight, and family history of DM. Conclusions: The use of public transportation was associated with lower prevalence of excess body weight, hypertension, and DM.