Abstract
Previous studies have demonstrated cardiovascular health effects of environmental noise exposure, partly showing different effect estimates for males and females. This cannot be explained by biological differences between males and females alone. It is assumed that health outcomes and exposure patterns also depend on gender, determined by social, economic, and cultural factors in society. This systematic review evaluated the current state of how sex/gender is integrated in studies on environmental noise associated with hypertension, blood pressure, and ischemic heart diseases. A systematic literature search was conducted in three different databases, identifying thirty studies published between 1 January 2000 and 2 February 2020. Effects varied, with no consistent findings for both males and females. All studies used a binary operationalization of sex/gender, assuming static differences between males and females. The differentiation between biological and social dimensions of sex/gender was not present in any of the studies and the terms “sex” and “gender” were used interchangeably. However, biological and social dimensions of sex/gender were unconsciously taken up in the discussion of the results. Integrating sex/gender-theoretical concepts into future studies offers great potential to increase the validity of research findings, thus making them more useful for prevention efforts, health promotion, and health care.
Highlights
Health impacts related to the exposure of environmental noise are a growing issue concerning the general public as well as policy makers in Europe [1]
The aim of the systematic search was to identify epidemiological studies that had analyzed the association between environmental noise and hypertension (HT), blood pressure (BP) changes, and ischemic heart disease (IHD)
The selection procedure of all records received through the literature search are illustrated in Figure 1 (HT and BP-changes) and Figure 2 (IHD and myocardial infarction (MI))
Summary
Health impacts related to the exposure of environmental noise are a growing issue concerning the general public as well as policy makers in Europe [1]. Organization (WHO) identified environmental noise as the second most dangerous environmental threat to health after air pollution [1,2]. According to the last report of the European Environment Agency (EEA), published in December 2020, more than 100 million. Europeans are exposed to noise levels higher than WHO recommendations [3]. Apart from auditory effects such as hearing loss or impairment, there is evidence for several non-auditory adverse health outcomes, including cardiovascular diseases, associated with long-term exposure to environmental noise [4]. The EEA stated that long-term noise exposure contributes to 48,000 new cases of heart disease in Europe every year [3].
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