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Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/2445/114206
The relationship between bicycle commuting and perceived stress: a cross-sectional study
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INTRODUCTION: Active commuting - walking and bicycling for
travel to and/or from work or educational addresses - may
facilitate daily, routine physical activity. Several studies
have investigated the relationship between active commuting and
commuting stress; however, there are no studies examining the
relationship between solely bicycle commuting and perceived
stress, or studies that account for environmental determinants
of bicycle commuting and stress. The current study evaluated the
relationship between bicycle commuting, among working or
studying adults in a dense urban setting, and perceived stress.
METHODS: A cross-sectional study was performed with 788 adults
who regularly travelled to work or study locations (excluding
those who only commuted on foot) in Barcelona, Spain.
Participants responded to a comprehensive telephone survey
concerning their travel behaviour from June 2011 through to May
2012. Participants were categorised as either bicycle commuters
or non-bicycle commuters, and (based on the Perceived Stress
Scale, PSS-4) as either stressed or non-stressed. Multivariate
Poisson regression with robust variance models of stress status
based on exposures with bicycle commuting were estimated and
adjusted for potential confounders. RESULTS: Bicycle commuters
had significantly lower risk of being stressed than non-bicycle
commuters (Relative Risk; RR (95% CI)=0.73 (0.60 to 0.89),
p=0.001). Bicycle commuters who bicycled 4 days per week (RR
(95% CI)=0.42 (0.24 to 0.73), p=0.002) and those who bicycled 5
or more days per week (RR (95% CI)=0.57 (0.42 to 0.77),
p<0.001) had lower risk of being stressed than those who
bicycled less than 4 days. This relationship remained
statistically significant after adjusting for individual and
environmental confounders and when using different cut-offs of
perceived stress. CONCLUSIONS: Stress reduction may be an
important consequence of routine bicycle use and should be
considered by decision makers as another potential benefit of
its promotion.
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ÁVILA PALENCIA, Ione, et al. The relationship between bicycle commuting and perceived stress:
a cross-sectional study. BMJ Open. 2017. Vol. 7, num. 6. ISSN 2044-6055. [consulted: 7 of June of 2026]. Available at: https://hdl.handle.net/2445/114206