Scientists from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland found that people who cycle to work are less likely to be prescribed antidepressants. results published In International Journal of Epidemiology (IJE).
Approximately 380 thousand people between the ages of 16 and 74 participated in the research. Information on subjects’ health and medications was obtained by analyzing data from the 2011 Scottish Census. NHS prescribing records from 2011 to 2016 were also used.
Participants were residents of Edinburgh and Glasgow who did not have a diagnosed mental disorder at the start of the study. Volunteers began working in different ways, using personal cars, bicycles or public transportation. A five-year follow-up found that people who chose to cycle were 15% less likely to be prescribed antidepressants. Although men cycled to work more often, this effect was most clearly observed in women.
The authors of the study suggested that regular cycling is beneficial to mental health. They added that government policies to invest in cycle paths could not only help reduce carbon emissions but also protect people’s mental health.
Previously in Russia refuted Popular hypothesis of the origin of depression.