Abstract
Some research has suggested an association between long‐term exposure to traffic noise and relative risk of cardiovascular disease (Babisch et al., 2005; Willich et al., 2006). It has been assumed that noise may act as a nonspecific stressor. Acute exposure to noise can evoke physiological and behavioral changes reminiscent of a stress response in rodents (Michaud et al., 2003), but it is equivocal that this occurs in humans chronically exposed to traffic noise. This pilot project examined annoyance to community noise and salivary biomarkers known to be influenced by stressor exposure. A face‐to‐face interview subjectively assessed community noise for 60 residents (30 males, 30 females; mean age 41.3, SD=14.98). Traffic sound levels will be determined and respondents categorized into high (>65 dBA, Leq24) and low (<50 dBA) noise areas. Participants also provided saliva samples upon awakening, 30 min after awakening, and prior to bedtime. Concentrations of salivary biomarkers of alpha‐amylase and cortisol were spectrophotometrically determined using commercial enzyme‐linked immunosorbant assays. Two‐way (high‐noise versus low‐noise) mixed‐model analyses of variance will examine differences in questionnaire and salivary responses. Sex differences will be evaluated with independent t‐tests, and polynomial regression analyses will relate salivary biomarker levels to high‐ or low‐noise areas.
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