title: Driving: a road to unhealthy lifestyles and poor health outcomes.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Driving is a common part of modern society, but its potential effects on health are not well understood.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The present cross-sectional study (n = 37,570) examined the associations of driving time with a series of health behaviors and outcomes in a large population sample of middle-aged and older adults using data from the Social, Economic, and Environmental Factor Study conducted in New South Wales, Australia, in 2010.
  
  
  METHODS
  Multiple logistic regression was used in 2013 to examine the associations of usual daily driving time with health-related behaviors (smoking, alcohol use, diet, physical activity, sedentary behavior, sleep) and outcomes (obesity, general health, quality of life, psychological distress, time stress, social functioning), adjusted for socio-demographic characteristics.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Findings suggested that longer driving time was associated with higher odds for smoking, insufficient physical activity, short sleep, obesity, and worse physical and mental health. The associations consistently showed a dose-response pattern and more than 120 minutes of driving per day had the strongest and most consistent associations with the majority of outcomes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study highlights driving as a potential lifestyle risk factor for public health. More population-level multidisciplinary research is needed to understand the mechanism of how driving affects health.
authors.affiliation: Prevention Research Collaboration, Sydney School of Public Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: Ding
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ding
authors.affiliation: Prevention Research Collaboration, Sydney School of Public Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; School of Public Health, Tropical Medicine, and Rehabilitation Sciences, James Cook University, Cairns, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Klaus
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Gebel
authors.affiliation: Prevention Research Collaboration, Sydney School of Public Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: Philayrath
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Phongsavan
authors.affiliation: Prevention Research Collaboration, Sydney School of Public Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: Adrian E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Bauman
authors.affiliation: School of Science and Health, University of Western Sydney, Penrith, New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: Dafna
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Merom
mesh_terms: D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology; D001334:Automobile Driving / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009043:Motor Activity; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology; D011634:Public Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011788:Quality of Life; D057185:Sedentary Behavior; D012890:Sleep; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000453:epidemiology