{"id":11880,"date":"2026-04-21T19:55:13","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T18:55:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bjsm\/?p=11880"},"modified":"2026-04-21T19:55:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T18:55:13","slug":"skip-the-car-active-commuting-and-coronary-atherosclerosis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bjsm\/2026\/04\/21\/skip-the-car-active-commuting-and-coronary-atherosclerosis\/","title":{"rendered":"Skip the car? Active commuting and coronary atherosclerosis"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3>Why is this study important?<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death worldwide, and atherosclerosis is the underlying pathology in most cases (<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">1, 2)<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. Clinicians routinely encourage patients to be more physically active, yet many people struggle to meet exercise guidelines. Importantly, recent evidence shows that even modest, realistic increases in daily activity, such as just a few extra minutes per day, can deliver meaningful health benefits, underscoring the value of feasible, everyday strategies to move more (<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">3)<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Active commuting, walking or cycling to work, has long been promoted as a practical way to build physical activity into daily life. Previous studies have linked active commuting to lower cardiovascular risk and mortality (<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">4)<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, but a key question has remained unanswered: is active commuting associated with less coronary atherosclerosis, the main pathophysiological mechanism underlying most cardiovascular disease?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">To address this gap, we used coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA), which provides a direct, in vivo assessment of the coronary arteries and can detect both calcified and non-calcified plaque. This matters because non-calcified plaque is considered more unstable and may be more likely to trigger future events. To our knowledge, our study is the first large population-based study using CCTA to test whether active commuting is linked to less coronary atherosclerosis. This could connect an everyday habit with the underlying disease that habitually precedes cardiovascular events.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>How did the study go about this?<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">This study <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">5<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> used data from the Swedish CArdioPulmonary bioImage Study (SCAPIS), a large, randomly recruited cohort of adults aged 50\u201364 years from across Sweden, including over 23,000 participants.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Commuting mode was self-reported and categorised as active commuting (walking or cycling in all seasons), car commuting, public transport (bus\/train), or mixed patterns.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">A strength of this study is the outcome assessment. Presence of any coronary stenosis was measured using CCTA in the 18 coronary segments. Coronary atherosclerosis was also captured using coronary artery calcium, providing a quantitative calcium score. Finally, carotid atherosclerosis was assessed by ultrasound and classified as no plaque or any plaque.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The analyses were adjusted for multiple cofounders, including occupational physical activity and leisure-time exercise.<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mediation analyses were also performed to examine whether better overall cardiovascular health, summarised by the Life\u2019s Essential 8 score, might partly explain the association between commuting and atherosclerosis.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>What did the study find?<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In simple terms, people who walked or cycled to work had less coronary stenosis on CCTA and lower coronary artery calcium than those who commuted by car. These associations remained after adjusting for confounders, including leisure-time exercise and occupational physical activity, suggesting the findings were not simply explained by active commuters being \u201cmore sporty\u201d overall (See Figure 1).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11881\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bjsm\/files\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-21-at-09.39.20-300x275.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"275\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bjsm\/files\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-21-at-09.39.20-300x275.png 300w, https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bjsm\/files\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-21-at-09.39.20-768x703.png 768w, https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bjsm\/files\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-21-at-09.39.20-640x586.png 640w, https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bjsm\/files\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-21-at-09.39.20.png 1156w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>Figure 1.<\/strong> Associations of commuting mode with coronary stenosis in middle-aged adults. Binomial regression models with 95% CIs are shown. The basic model is adjusted for age, sex and site in SCAPIS, while the adjusted model includes additional adjustments for education, occupational physical activity and leisure time exercise habits, sleep, diet and smoking habits.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The association appeared somewhat stronger for cycling than walking, suggesting that intensity or volume of activity may matter. Interestingly, no independent association was found between active commuting and carotid plaques after full adjustment, pointing to possible artery-specific effects.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">A large proportion of the association between commuting mode and coronary atherosclerosis was explained by better cardiovascular health factors, such as lower blood pressure, healthier lipid profiles, lower body mass index and less diabetes, among active commuters. This supports the biological plausibility of these epidemiological findings.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>What are the key take-home points?<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Active commuting, especially cycling, was associated with less coronary atherosclerosis, and this relationship appeared partly explained by better cardiovascular health factors. While the cross-sectional design limits causal conclusions, the findings suggest that active commuting could be a realistic way to reduce atherosclerosis and future cardiovascular events. For patients who struggle to \u201cfind time to exercise,\u201d active commuting may offer a practical alternative.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/bjsm.bmj.com\/content\/60\/4\/248.long\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-11882\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bjsm\/files\/2026\/04\/Skip-the-car-Active-commuting-and-coronary-atherosclerosis-212x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"507\" height=\"717\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bjsm\/files\/2026\/04\/Skip-the-car-Active-commuting-and-coronary-atherosclerosis-212x300.jpg 212w, https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bjsm\/files\/2026\/04\/Skip-the-car-Active-commuting-and-coronary-atherosclerosis-768x1086.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bjsm\/files\/2026\/04\/Skip-the-car-Active-commuting-and-coronary-atherosclerosis-1086x1536.jpg 1086w, https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bjsm\/files\/2026\/04\/Skip-the-car-Active-commuting-and-coronary-atherosclerosis-640x905.jpg 640w, https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bjsm\/files\/2026\/04\/Skip-the-car-Active-commuting-and-coronary-atherosclerosis.jpg 1414w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 507px) 100vw, 507px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h5>Author information<\/h5>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Peter Edholm <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">1,2<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, Pontus Henriksson <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">1<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, \u00c1ngel Herraiz-Adillo <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">1<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">1 Department of Health, Medicine and Caring Sciences, Link\u00f6ping University, Link\u00f6ping, Sweden<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">2 Department of Environmental and Bioscience, Halmstad University, Halmstad, Sweden<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>X: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">@Peter_Edholm; @AdilloAngel; @P_Henriksson_<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">This blog provides an overview of a recently published study on the associations of active commuting and atherosclerosis (<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">5)<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h5>References<\/h5>\n<ol>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Martin SS, Aday AW, Allen NB, et al. 2025 Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics: A Report of US and Global Data From the American Heart Association. <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Circulation<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> 2025;151(8):e41-e660. doi: 10.1161\/cir.0000000000001303 [published Online First: 20250127]<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Frosteg\u00e5rd J. Immunity, atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease. <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">BMC Med<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> 2013;11:117. doi: 10.1186\/1741-7015-11-117 [published Online First: 20130501]<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Ekelund U, Tarp J, Ding D, et al. Deaths potentially averted by small changes in physical activity and sedentary time: an individual participant data meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies. <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Lancet<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> 2026;407(10526):339-49. doi: <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/S0140-6736(25)02219-6\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/S0140-6736(25)02219-6<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Hu G, Jousilahti P, Borodulin K, et al. Occupational, commuting and leisure-time physical activity in relation to coronary heart disease among middle-aged Finnish men and women. <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Atherosclerosis<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> 2007;194(2):490-7. doi: 10.1016\/j.atherosclerosis.2006.08.051 [published Online First: 20060918]<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Edholm P, Wennberg P, Ballin M, et al. Active commuting and atherosclerosis in a population-based sample of middle-aged adults: the Swedish CArdioPulmonary bioImage study (SCAPIS). <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Br J Sports Med<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> 2026 doi: 10.1136\/bjsports-2025-110403 [published Online First: 20260203]<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><br style=\"font-weight: 400\" \/><br style=\"font-weight: 400\" \/><!--TrendMD v2.4.8--><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Why is this study important? Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death worldwide, and atherosclerosis is the underlying pathology in most cases (1, 2). Clinicians routinely encourage patients to be more physically active, yet many people struggle to meet exercise guidelines. Importantly, recent evidence shows that even modest, realistic increases in daily activity, such [&#8230;]<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"btn btn-secondary understrap-read-more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bjsm\/2026\/04\/21\/skip-the-car-active-commuting-and-coronary-atherosclerosis\/\">Read More&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":464,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[16480,16483,16484,16482,16068,3018,8292,16481],"class_list":["post-11880","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-active","tag-commute","tag-coronary","tag-cycle","tag-featured","tag-heart-disease","tag-travel","tag-walk"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Skip the car? Active commuting and coronary atherosclerosis - BJSM blog - social media&#039;s leading SEM voice<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bjsm\/2026\/04\/21\/skip-the-car-active-commuting-and-coronary-atherosclerosis\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Skip the car? Active commuting and coronary atherosclerosis - BJSM blog - social media&#039;s leading SEM voice\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Why is this study important? Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death worldwide, and atherosclerosis is the underlying pathology in most cases (1, 2). Clinicians routinely encourage patients to be more physically active, yet many people struggle to meet exercise guidelines. 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