Active commuting to school patterns and associations with socio-economic level in Spanish pre-schoolers

Abstract

Introduction: Active commuting to school has previously been associated with socio-economic level in children and adolescent. However, this association is unknown in preschoolers. Therefore, the aims were to describe the patterns of active commuting to school (ACS) in Spanish children aged 3-5 years old and to analyse the association between active commuting to school and socio-economic factors. Method: A total of 2,639 parents of preschoolers aged between 3 and 5 years old participating in the PREFIT project self-reported information about the mode of commuting to school of their children. Additionally, mothers and fathers reported their socioeconomic level (i.e. marital status, educational level, and occupation). Binary logistic regression was used to analyse the relationship between ACS and socio-economic factors. Results: Nearly a 50% of pre-schoolers commuted actively to the school. Their parents were mostly married (80%); 72% mothers and 62% fathers had university studies, 60% mothers and 69% fathers were skilled workers. Preschoolers with non-university degree·s parents were more likely to ACS than those preschoolers with university degree·s parents (all P < 0.001). Additionally, preschoolers with low professional level·s fathers were more likely to ACS than those preschoolers with high professional level·s fathers (P < 0.01). Preschoolers with unskilled worker or unemployed mothers were twice more likely to ACS (P < 0.001) than those preschoolers with high professional level's mothers. Conclusion: Almost half of preschoolers commuted actively to school. Markers of socioeconomic level were inversely associated with ACS, being the characteristics of the mother greater predictors than the parent·s ones, to active commuting.