Cumulative exposure to nighttime environmental noise and the incidence of peptic ulcer

Abstract

BackgroundExposure to noise poses auditory and non-auditory effects on health. The gastrointestinal tract is considered as the site of adverse reactions to noise-induced stress; little attention has been paid to a potential link between noise and peptic ulcers. ObjectivesThe aim of this study was to investigate whether cumulative exposure to environmental noise affects the incidence of peptic ulcer in adults. MethodsWe analyzed the data from the National Health Insurance Service-National Sample Cohort (2002−2013). The final study sample comprised 217,308 adults assessed for gastric ulcer and 249,514 adults assessed for duodenal ulcer. The diagnosis of gastric (ICD-10: K25) and duodenal (ICD-10: K26) ulcers during an 8-year follow-up (2006–2013). Environmental noise data was obtained from the National Noise Information System, a nationwide monitors system of noise. ResultsDuring the follow-up period, gastric ulcers occurred in 32.1% subjects and duodenal ulcers occurred in 10.7% subjects. The rate of diagnosis for gastric and duodenal ulcers was increased with the increases in cumulative mean levels of nighttime environmental noise. With increases in the increase in interquartile range (IQR) of nighttime noise, the hazard ratio (HR) was significantly increased by 12% (HR = 1.12; 95% CI, 1.10–1.13) for gastric ulcer and 17% (HR = 1.17; 95% CI, 1.15–1.20) for duodenal ulcer based on the fully adjusted model. ConclusionOur finding supports previous reports on the damaging effect of environmental noise on the gastrointestinal tract and suggests that cumulative exposure to environmental nighttime noise affects the development of peptic ulcers.