Promoting Sustainable and Active Mobility Among Employees and Students (DiNaMo-active)

Impact of Physically Active Versus Passive Way to Work on Physical and Mental Aspects of Health in Members at Hannover Universities: an Observational Study

The aim of the study is to assess health data (heart rate variability, blood pressure, blood glucose, particulate matter pollution) and travel characteristics (length, duration and type of commute) on the way to and from work from members of the universities in Hannover (Germany).

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Mobility on the Way to Work and Health-related Outcomes

Detailed Description

Active mobility, (i.e. moving around using the own physical strength) has positive sustainability effects. The physically active way to and from college is a great untapped resources for health promotion. The aim of this sub-project is to examine the way to university in order to assess its effect on individual health depending on the means of transport.

In order to determine the status quo and changes in mobility behavior the investigators will use movement trajectories using smartphone apps or inexpensive trackers in a larger cohort, as well as more specified health measures including overweight status, blood pressure, blood glucose concentration, lack of exercise, particulate matter and risk of accidents in a smaller sub-cohort.

By linking this data with the personal characteristics surveyed in other sub-projects, an evaluation of the individual health status and the expected health benefits depending on the route to work can be created. This represents the database for identifying certain groups of people or status groups who could particularly benefit from targeted promotion of an active commute.

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 367

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Germany
  • Lower Saxony
    • Hanover, Lower Saxony, Germany, 20625
      • Hannover Medical School

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Employees and Students of Hannover Medical School, Leibniz University Hannover, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Hannover, and the Leibniz Information Centre for Science and Technology (all Lower Saxony, Germany)

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• living within 50km around the workplace

Exclusion Criteria:

• current participation in another interventional study

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Number of groups / cohorts

2

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
Long-term group; University members who use mainly one transport mode to get to the work place
Short-term group; University members who alternate their transport habits between physically active and passive commuting

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Heart rate variability (HRV)	HRV measured by a wearable activity tracker	24 hours on two separate days for the short-term subgroup, and 7 consecutive days for the long-term subgroup

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Blood glucose concentration	Intraindividual difference in blood glucose concentration between active and passive commuting as assessed with continuous blood glucose monitoring (Freestyle Libre 3)	24 hours on two separate days for the short-term subgroup
Work-Ability-Index	Interindividual difference between work ability as assessed with the Work-Ability-Index-Questionnaire. By adding up the points obtained from the questionnaire, scores can range from 7 to 49 points. The lower the score, the greater the discrepancy between the job demands placed on the respondent and their individual ability to cope with them.	Once at baseline for both study subgroups
24 hour blood pressure	Intraindividual difference in 24 hour arterial blood pressure between active and passive commuting as assessed with 24 hour systolic and diastolic blood pressure monitoring (Boso TM-2450)	24 hours on two separate days for the short-term subgroup
Daily moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) duration	Interindividual difference in MVPA as assessed with a wearable activity tracker (Garmin Smartwatch Forerunner 55)	7 consecutive days for the long-term subgroup
Health-related quality of life	Interindividual difference between health-related quality of life as assessed with the Short Form 36 questionnaire. The possible score ranges from 0 to 100 points, with 0 points representing the greatest health impairment, while 100 points indicate no health impairment.	Once at baseline for both study subgroups
Particulate matter	Intraindividual difference in particulate matter concentration between active and passive commuting as assessed with a particulate matter measuring module	24 hours on two separate days for the short-term subgroup

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Hannover Medical School
• Collaborators: Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Universität Hannover; Hochschule Hannover; Leibniz Information Centre for Science and Technology
• Investigators: Study Director: Uwe Tegtbur, Prof. Dr., Hannover Medical School, Clinic of Rehabilitation and Sports Medicine

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Beyer M, Boyen J, Wussow-Hampel S, Stein L, Schmidt LS, Tegtbur U, Haufe S. Role of commuting characteristics on physical and mental health among members at university institutions (DiNaMo-active): a protocol for an observational study. BMJ Open Sport Exerc Med. 2025 Jun 19;11(2):e002665. doi: 10.1136/bmjsem-2025-002665. eCollection 2025.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): August 1, 2024
• Primary Completion (Actual): March 30, 2026
• Study Completion (Actual): April 30, 2026

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: June 26, 2024
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 2, 2024
• First Posted (Actual): July 9, 2024

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): August 17, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 13, 2026
• Last Verified: November 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: heart rate variability; commuting to work; active mobility; sustainable universities
• Other Study ID Numbers: 01UV2301B

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: UNDECIDED

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No