Abstract
Epidemiological studies have confirmed that long-term exposure to road traffic noise can cause cardiovascular diseases (CDs), and when noise exposure reaches a certain level, the risk of related CDs significantly increases. Currently, a large number of Chinese residents are exposed to high noise exposure, which could greatly increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. On the other hand, relevant studies have found that people with high noise sensitivity are more susceptible to noise. And it is necessary to pay more attention to the high noise-sensitive people. This study investigated the acute physiological effect of different noise-sensitive groups by indoor-level noise stimulus experiments under laboratory conditions, by observing heart rate variability (HRV) indicators, including standard deviation of NN intervals (SDNN), low frequency/high frequency (LF/HF), and heart rate (HR). The results showed that (a) there was no significant difference in HRV between the high-sensitive group and the low-sensitive group at the physiological baseline and the different stimulating noise levels. (b) Then, based on the theory of cumulative effect of noise proposed by WHO Regional Office for Europe, non-significant but observable differences between groups were further discussed. By analyzing differences of the variation trends and the within-group significant changes of SDNN and HR between the two groups, the results tended to show that the high-sensitive group is more affected by road traffic noise. In addition, the values of SDNN and HR showed observable between-group differences at 55 dB (A) and 65 dB (A) which corresponding to the SPL associated with a significantly increased risk of cardiovascular disease concerned by epidemiological studies. According to the cumulative effect theory (WHO), these differences in HRV caused by short-term noise stimulation may have the potential to produce physiological response and lead to between-groups differences in prevalence after long-term recurrent effect, and deserve attention and further research.
Highlights
Road traffic noise is one of the causative factors for cardiovascular diseases (CDs) confirmed by numerous studies (Babisch, 2011; Basner et al, 2014)
According to World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Europe (2018a), chronic CDs are primarily associated with sustained daytime noise exposure, this study explored the influence of noise on subjects in the daytime awake state
According to the results presented in section “The Differences in Significance of Heart Rate Variability Between Noise-Sensitive Groups,” the heart rate variability (HRV) indicators, including standard deviation of NN intervals (SDNN), low frequency/high frequency (LF/HF), and heart rate (HR), did not differ significantly between the high-sensitive group and the low-sensitive group under short-term noise stimulation in this study
Summary
Road traffic noise is one of the causative factors for cardiovascular diseases (CDs) confirmed by numerous studies (Babisch, 2011; Basner et al, 2014). According to the previous research conclusions of noise exposure limits, a considerable number of residents in Chinese cities are exposed to high risk noise environment, facing the greater risks of CDs (Hu et al, 2019). The exposure of urban road traffic noise in China is relatively severe (Yang, 2020), which has reached or exceeded the noise control recommendations proposed by relevant studies. Previous epidemiological studies have preliminarily confirmed that long-term exposure to road traffic noise mainly causes CDs (Sørensen et al, 2013; Basner and McGuire, 2018), especially the daytime noise exposure (WHO Regional Office for Europe, 2018b). Due to the lack of relevant researches in China, especially in the face of the poor road traffic noise environment, more attention should be paid to the impact of road traffic noise on Chinese people
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