Journal Article

Road traffic noise, noise sensitivity, noise annoyance, psychological and physical health and mortality

Stansfeld, Stephen, Gallacher, John, Smuk, Melanie, Clark, Charlotte, Babisch, Wolfgang

2021

Overview

Background Both physical and psychological health outcomes have been associated with exposure to environmental noise. Noise sensitivity could have the same moderating effect on physical and psychological health outcomes related to environmental noise exposure as on annoyance but this has been little tested. Methods A cohort of 2398 men between 45 and 59 years, the longitudinal Caerphilly Collaborative Heart Disease study, was established in 1984/88 and followed into the mid-1990s. Road traffic noise maps were assessed at baseline. Psychological ill-health was measured in phase 2 in 1984/88, phase 3 (1989/93) and phase 4 (1993/7). Ischaemic heart disease was measured in clinic at baseline and through hospital records and records of deaths during follow up. We examined the longitudinal associations between road traffic noise and ischaemic heart disease morbidity and mortality using Cox Proportional Hazard Models and psychological ill-health using Logistic Regression; we also examined whether noise sensitivity and noise annoyance might moderate these associations. We also tested if noise sensitivity and noise annoyance were longitudinal predictors of ischaemic heart disease morbidity and mortality and psychological ill-health. Results Road traffic noise was not associated with ischaemic heart disease morbidity or mortality. Neither noise sensitivity nor noise annoyance moderated the effects of road traffic noise on ischaemic heart disease morbidity or mortality. High noise sensitivity was associated with lower ischaemic heart disease mortality risk (HR = 0.74, 95%CI 0.57, 0.97). Road traffic noise was associated with Phase 4 psychological ill-health but only among those exposed to 56-60dBA (fully adjusted OR = 1.82 95%CI 1.07, 3.07). Noise sensitivity moderated the association of road traffic noise exposure with psychological ill-health. High noise sensitivity was associated longitudinally with psychological ill-health at phase 3 (OR = 1.85 95%CI 1.23, 2.78) and phase 4 (OR = 1.65 95%CI 1.09, 2.50). Noise annoyance predicted psychological ill-health at phase 4 (OR = 2.47 95%CI 1.00, 6.13). Conclusions Noise sensitivity is a specific predictor of psychological ill-health and may be part of a wider construct of environmental susceptibility. Noise sensitivity may increase the risk of psychological ill-health when exposed to road traffic noise. Noise annoyance may be a mediator of the effects of road traffic noise on psychological ill-health.

• Publisher: BioMed Central,BioMed Central Ltd,Springer Nature B.V,BMC
• Subject: Anxiety / Background noise / Cardiovascular disease / Cardiovascular diseases / Causes of / Cohort analysis / Cohort study / Collaboration / Complications and side effects / Coronary artery disease / Earth and Environmental Science / Electrocardiography / Environment / Environmental Epidemiology / Environmental Health / Environmental noise / Health aspects / Health risks / Heart attacks / Heart disease / Heart diseases / Hyperacusis / Hypertension / Mental depression / Mental disorders / Mental health / Mental illness / Migraine / Model testing / Morbidity / Mortality / Mortality risk / Noise levels / Noise prediction / Noise sensitivity / Occupational Medicine/Industrial Medicine / Physiology / Public Health / Regression analysis / Risk factors / Roads & highways / Statistical models / Stress / Stress (Psychology) / Traffic / Traffic noise / Transportation noise / Vulnerability