Adults in the United Kingdom who biked to work had a 46 percent lower risk of cardiovascular disease and a 52 percent lower risk of cardiovascular mortality, according to a prospective, population-based study.

In addition, walking to work was associated with a 27 percent reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and a 46 percent reduced risk of cardiovascular disease mortality.

The researchers noted that the associations were independent of sex, age, ethnicity, smoking status, diet, body mass index, comorbidities and other factors.

Lead researcher Carlos A. Celis-Morales, PhD, of the University of Glasgow in Scotland, and colleagues published their results online in the BMJ on April 20.

The analysis included 263,450 adults who were recruited between April 2007 and December 2010 and attended one of 22 assessment centers in England, Scotland or Wales. The participants were between 40 and 69 years old and were part of UK Biobank, a non-profit medical research project focused on improving the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of heart diseases, cancer, stroke and other serious and life-threatening illnesses.

The median follow-up period was five years for all-cause, cardiovascular disease and cancer mortality and 2.1 years for incident cardiovascular disease and cancer.

During the follow-up period, 2,430 participants died, including 496 related to cardiovascular disease and 1,126 related to cancer. Meanwhile, 1,110 participants had incident cardiovascular disease and 3,748 had cancer.

The researchers found that commuting via bicycle and mixed mode commuting with a cycling component were associated with a statistically significant 41 percent and 24 percent, respectively, lower risk of all-cause mortality compared with non-active commuting. However, they added that there were no significant associations for walking or mixed mode commuting with a walking component for all-cause mortality.

They also noted that commuting via bicycle and mixed mode commuting with a cycling component were associated with significant decreased risk of cancer mortality. There were no associations for walking or mixed mode commuting with a walking component for cancer outcomes.

“Walking to work was associated with lower risk of heart disease, but unlike cycling was not associated with a significantly lower risk of cancer or overall death,” Celis-Morales said in a news release. “This may be because walkers commuted shorter distances than cyclists—typically six miles per week, compared with 30 miles per week—and walking is generally a lower intensity of exercise than cycling.”

The study had a few limitations, according to the researchers, including that participants in the UK Biobank might be healthier than the general population. Participants also self-reported their mode and distance of commuting, and the study’s observational design meant the researchers could not imply causation. Further, they did not have fitness and objectively measured physical data for all participants.

“These results are relevant, because active commuting on a daily basis is an important contributor to total physical activity,” the researchers wrote. “Encouraging active commuting, particularly by cycling, may be a viable approach to deliver health benefits related to physical activity at the population level.”