Can the Mode and Time of Commuting to Work Affect Mental Health?

Abstract

Background: Commuting to work is an important part of many people's daily life, with travel times increasing steadily and becoming a growing problem. Longer commutes, increased costs, and certain forms of transport can lead to increased stress and poor psychological health. The aim of the present study is to assess the possible associations between commuting patterns and poor mental health in workers.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional study analysing information from the representative population survey 2015 ‘Commuting, Daily Habits and Urban Health’ survey in Mairena del Aljarafe (Spain). For the present study, 294 workers aged from 16–64 years old were included. To detect poor mental health, the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) was administered. The study also included sociodemographic, lifestyle, and commuting patterns. Associations were tested using Mann-Whitney and Chi-square tests. Pearson's correlation was used to evaluate each item of the GHQ-12 scale. Multiple linear regression was applied to explore factors associated with poor mental health.

Results: Of the sample of workers, the mean age was 43.1 years old, 46.6% female, 49.0% had undertaken university study, 38.4% smoked, and 44.5% were overweight/obese. For their commute, 77.1% used a private motor vehicle (vs. 6.9% public transport and 16.0% active transport), allocated 51.9 min/day (54.8 min/day private, 44.2 min/day public, and 39.3 min/day active transport, p=0.004), and spent €91.9/month (€99.7/month private, €59.0/month public, and €59.5/month active transport, p<0.001). Workers who used their private motor vehicle to commute to work presented, as driving time increased, poorer mental health and reported worrying levels of sleep loss, being under stress, and feeling unhappy or depressed. However, for public or active commuters, we cannot reach any of these conclusions. The multiple linear regression model shows that workers who use their private motorised transport and those who spent longer on their commutes were associated with poorer mental health.

Conclusions: Our findings show that both driving a motor vehicle and longer commutes are associated with poorer mental health. Therefore, the use of public and active commuting should be encouraged, as well as better management to improve traffic congestion and thus reduce driving times.