Social inequalities in road traffic noise exposure

Abstract

Background It is well known that there is a social gradient in health. It is not a single explanation of social inequalities in health, but housing seems to be an important factor. In order to prevent health inequalities, it is a need of insights into the social gradient of risk exposure related to housing and residential location. Traffic noise has been associated with negative health conditions such as sleep disturbances, psychological distress, and cardiovascular outcomes. Previous studies have shown contradicting results about noise exposure and socioeconomic status. Aims There is a lack of studies that focus on the social inequalities associated with road traffic noise despite its potential health effects. The aim of the study was to examine how socioeconomic status is linked to exposure of residential road traffic noise, for both individuals and neighbourhoods. Methods This study is a large population based study, using data from the Oslo Health Study (HELMILO, 2009-10), Statistics Norway and modeled estimates of residential noise exposure (Lden). Several variables were included to reflect the dimension of socioeconomic status (SES) of the individual and neighborhood. Association-analyses and log-linear models were used to investigate the intrinsic interaction between the different SES variables for both levels. The study included 10762 and 11813 respondents in the individual and neighborhood SES analyses, respectively. Results We found significant differences in residential noise exposure among individuals and neighborhoods with certain socioeconomic characteristics. Conclusions The results demonstrate social inequalities in exposure to road traffic noise in Oslo, both at individual and contextual levels. Thus, noise exposure might contribute to enlarge social inequalities in health. Further research should investigate whether socially disadvantaged groups show more severe health effects due to noise.