Abstract
BackgroundAlthough a number of studies have found an association between aircraft noise and hypertension, there is a lack of evidence on associations with other cardiovascular disease. For road traffic noise, more studies are available but the extent of possible confounding by air pollution has not been established.MethodsThis study used data from the Hypertension and Environmental Noise near Airports (HYENA) study. Cross-sectional associations between self-reported ‘heart disease and stroke’ and aircraft noise and road traffic noise were examined using data collected between 2004 and 2006 on 4712 participants (276 cases), who lived near airports in six European countries (UK, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden, Greece, Italy). Data were available to assess potential confounding by NO2 air pollution in a subsample of three countries (UK, Netherlands, Sweden).ResultsAn association between night-time average aircraft noise and ‘heart disease and stroke’ was found after adjustment for socio-demographic confounders for participants who had lived in the same place for ≥ 20 years (odds ratio (OR): 1.25 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.03, 1.51) per 10 dB (A)); this association was robust to adjustment for exposure to air pollution in the subsample. 24 hour average road traffic noise exposure was associated with ‘heart disease and stroke’ (OR: 1.19 (95% CI 1.00, 1.41), but adjustment for air pollution in the subsample suggested this may have been due to confounding by air pollution. Statistical assessment (correlations and variance inflation factor) suggested only modest collinearity between noise and NO2 exposures.ConclusionsExposure to aircraft noise over many years may increase risks of heart disease and stroke, although more studies are needed to establish how much the risks associated with road traffic noise may be explained by air pollution.
Highlights
A number of studies have found an association between aircraft noise and hypertension, there is a lack of evidence on associations with other cardiovascular disease
In five studies published to date, four studies showed an independent association between cardiovascular disease or stroke and road traffic noise after adjustment for air pollution [9,10,13,14] but one study found the effect of road traffic noise was confounded by air pollution [15]
A statistically significant association was found between exposure to night-time aircraft noise and ‘heart disease and stroke’ in people who had lived in the same home for 20 years or more, and this association was robust to adjustment for exposure to Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) air pollution in a subsample
Summary
A number of studies have found an association between aircraft noise and hypertension, there is a lack of evidence on associations with other cardiovascular disease. This paper reports findings of the HYENA project (Hypertension and Exposure to Noise near Airports), a multi-centre cross-sectional study, which is one of the largest studies to investigate noise exposure in populations living near airports Previous findings of this project have demonstrated an association between noise and cardiovascular disease risk factors [2,19,20,21]. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that noise exposure provokes a stress response causing a release of stress hormones, which in turn affect factors such as blood pressure and heart rate and cardiovascular disease risk [21,22,23] It was the aim of this study to investigate whether there was an association between exposure to aircraft noise or road traffic noise and heart disease and stroke. A secondary aim was to examine if any association between noise and heart disease and stroke was confounded by air pollution exposure, given the mutual sources
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
