Commuting stress

Commuting, the daily movement of people from home to workplace is one of the most common features of everyday life. As urban areas become increasingly spread out and congestion grows, commuting stress has increased. The time, difficulty and exposures associated with commuting have been hypothesized to be one of the pathways between the built environment and health. This study measured levels of commuter stress among 114 employees and visitors to a Boston medical center. The multi-ethnic study population commuted by car, bus, train, light rail, bicycle and walking. Commute related stress was measured by a ten question survey module designed to be “mode neutral”, not focused on any one mode. Mean stress scores, measured on a 10 – 50 point scale was 24.46 (95% CI = 9.39, 39.53). Walkers and bicyclists had the mean lowest stress score, but there was little difference between car and public transit commuters. In a multiple regression analysis, stress was highly associated with the with the duration of the commute (Relative Risk = .30 (95% Confidence Interval = .08, .52) and the perceived amount of impedance – the problems associated with commutes taking too much time, were too slow or too expensive (Relative Risk = 2.34, 95% Confidence Interval = .61, 4.06) . But distance and commute mode became were not associated with stress. This study suggests that congestion and increasing long commutes may be leading to more stress in the US's working population.