Effect of commuting on the risk of COVID-19 and COVID-19-induced anxiety in Japan, December 2020

  1. Hajime Ando
  2. Kazunori Ikegami
  3. Tomohisa Nagata
  4. Seiichiro Tateishi
  5. Hisashi Eguchi
  6. Mayumi Tsuji
  7. Shinya Matsuda
  8. Yoshihisa Fujino
  9. Akira Ogami
  10. for the CORoNaWork Project

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Abstract

Background

To prevent the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), it is important to avoid 3Cs (closed spaces, crowded places, and close-contact settings). However, the risk of contact with an unspecified number of people is inevitable while commuting to and from work. In this study, we investigated the relationship between commuting, and the risk of COVID-19 and COVID-19-induced anxiety.

Methods

An internet-based questionnaire survey was conducted to obtain a dataset from 27,036 respondents. One-way commuting time was evaluated using a five-case method. The commuting distance was estimated using zip codes of the home and workplace. Logistic regression analysis was performed with the following outcomes: COVID-19 risk, close contact, infection anxiety, and infection anxiety due to commuting. Commuting distance and commuting time were analyzed separately in the model. We excluded participants with incalculable commuting distance, commuting distance exceeding 300 km, commuting distance of 0 km, or who telecommuted at least once a week.

Results

The total number of participants included in the analysis was 14,038. The adjusted odds ratios (aORs) of using public transportation for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection were 4.17 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.51–6.93) (commuting time) and 5.18 (95% CI: 3.06–8.78) (commuting distance). The aOR of COVID-19 diagnosis decreased significantly with increasing commuting distance. The aORs of using public transportation to infection anxiety were 1.44 (95% CI: 1.31–1.59) (commuting time) and 1.45 (95% CI: 1.32–1.60) (commuting distance). The longer the commuting time, the more the aOR increased.

Conclusions

COVID-19 risk, close contact, and infection anxiety were all associated with the use of public transportation during commuting. Both commuting distance and time were associated with infection anxiety due to commuting, and the strength of the association increased with increase in commuting time distance. Since transportation by commuting is associated with COVID-19 risk and anxiety, we recommend the use of telecommuting and other means of work.

Article activity feed

  1. Version published to 10.1186/s13690-021-00751-9
  2. ScreenIT

    SciScore for 10.1101/2021.05.01.21256090: (What is this?)

    Please note, not all rigor criteria are appropriate for all manuscripts.

    Table 1: Rigor

    Ethicsnot detected.
    Sex as a biological variablenot detected.
    Randomizationnot detected.
    Blindingnot detected.
    Power Analysisnot detected.

    Table 2: Resources

    Software and Algorithms
    SentencesResources
    The analysis was conducted using STATA/SE version 15 (StataCorp LLC).
    STATA/SE
    suggested: None
    StataCorp
    suggested: (Stata, RRID:SCR_012763)

    Results from OddPub: We did not detect open data. We also did not detect open code. Researchers are encouraged to share open data when possible (see Nature blog).

    Results from LimitationRecognizer: We detected the following sentences addressing limitations in the study:
    This study has some limitations. First, this was a cross-sectional study; thus, causality could not be addressed. Due to the constantly changing social situation surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, longitudinal follow-up is required. Second, this study was an internet-based questionnaire survey, which may not necessarily contain accurate information. Third, the commuting distances used in this study were estimated from zip codes, which limits the accuracy of the data. Moreover, because we used a straight line distance between home and work, the overall commuting distance is likely to be underestimated. Commuting is not necessarily limited to a straight line distance between home and work, but may include a variety of activities such as traveling to and from the station and picking up children. This may be one of the reasons for the discrepancy between the results for commuting distance and commuting time; thus, a more detailed survey is required.

    Results from TrialIdentifier: No clinical trial numbers were referenced.

    Results from Barzooka: We did not find any issues relating to the usage of bar graphs.

    Results from JetFighter: We did not find any issues relating to colormaps.

    Results from rtransparent:
    • Thank you for including a conflict of interest statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
    • Thank you for including a funding statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
    • No protocol registration statement was detected.

    Results from scite Reference Check: We found no unreliable references.

    About SciScore

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  3. Version published to 10.1101/2021.05.01.21256090v1 on medRxiv