Abstract
Background Noise in the vicinity of airports is a public health problem. Many laboratory studies have shown that heart rate is altered during sleep after exposure to road or railway noise. Fewer studies have looked at the effects of exposure to aircraft noise on heart rate during sleep in populations living near airports. Objective The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between the sound pressure level (SPL) of aircraft noise and heart rate during sleep in populations living near airports in France. Methods In total, 92 people living near the Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Toulouse-Blagnac airports participated in this study. Heart rate was recorded every 15 s during one night, using an Actiheart monitor, with simultaneous measurements of SPL of aircraft noise inside the participants’ bedrooms. Energy and event-related indicators were then estimated. Mixed linear regression models were applied, taking into account potential confounding factors, to investigate the relationship between energy indicators and heart rate during sleep measured every 15 s. Event-related analyses were also carried out in order to study the effects of an acoustic event associated with aircraft noise on heart rate during sleep. Results The more the SPL from all sources (LAeq,15s) and the SPL exceeded for 90% of the measurement period (LA90,15s) increased, the more heart rate also increased. No significant associations were observed between the maximum 1-s equivalent SPL associated with aircraft overflight (LAmax,1s) and differences between the heart rate recorded during or 15 or 30 s after an aircraft noise event and that recorded before the event. On the other hand, a positive and significant association was found between LAmax,1s and the heart rate amplitude calculated during an aircraft noise event. Results were unchanged when analyses were limited to participants who had lived more than five years in their present dwelling. Conclusion Our study shows that exposure to the maximum SPL linked to aircraft overflight affect the heart rate during sleep of residents near airports. However, further studies on a larger number of participants over several nights are needed to confirm these results.
Highlights
The environmental and health consequences of the increase in air traffic have led to questioning and mounting concern among residents near airports
Increase in LAeq,15s was associated with an increase of 0.71 bpm in heart rate characteristics (HR). This increase was greater for the sound pressure level (SPL) from all sources (LAeq,15s ) than for the SPL exceeded for 90% of the measurement period (LA90,15s )
The present study showed a significant increase in heart rate during sleep with increasing equivalent SPL inside the bedroom of all noise sources (LAeq,15s ), and with increasing SPL exceeded for 90% of the measurement period inside the bedroom (LA90,15s )
Summary
The environmental and health consequences of the increase in air traffic have led to questioning and mounting concern among residents near airports. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), sleep disorder is the most serious consequence of environmental noise in Western Europe [1]. Several studies have shown a relationship between aircraft noise exposure and sleep disturbances [2]. Many laboratory studies have shown that heart rate is altered during sleep after exposure to road or railway noise. Fewer studies have looked at the effects of exposure to aircraft noise on heart rate during sleep in populations living near airports
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