Traffic noise ‘could shorten life’ - timesofmalta.com
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Wednesday, June 24, 2015, 15:00 by John von Radowitz, PA
Traffic noise ‘could shorten life’
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Traffic noise is more than a sleep-disturbing nuisance – it can shorten your life, new research
suggests.
Researchers found an association between long-term exposure to the roar of road traffic and
death rate, as well as the risk of stroke.
People exposed to daytime traffic noise louder than 60 decibels (dB) were four per cent more
likely to die than those living in areas where noise levels were less than 55 dB.
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Traffic noise ‘could shorten life’
The extra deaths mostly involved heart or artery disease – which could in turn be linked to
raised blood pressure, sleep problems and stress brought on by noise, the scientists claim.
A total of 8.6 million people living in London between 2003 and 2010 provided data for the
study, reported in the European Heart Journal.
Lead scientist Jaana Halonen, from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, said:
“Road traffic noise has previously been associated with sleep problems and increased blood
pressure, but our study is the first in the UK to show a link with deaths and strokes.
“This is the largest study of its kind to date, looking at everyone living inside the M25 over a
seven-year period. Our findings contribute to the body of evidence suggesting reductions in
traffic noise could be beneficial to our health.”
The World Health Organisation defines 55dB as a noise level that can cause health problems
in a community. In London, more than 1.6 million people are exposed to daytime road traffic
noise louder than this threshold.
Although 55dB is roughly equivalent to listening to a loud conversation, research suggests that
continuous noise at this level may be harmful.
The study also found that adults living in areas with the noisiest daytime traffic were five per
cent more likely to be admitted to hospital for stroke than those from quieter neighbourhoods.
For the elderly, this increase in risk rose to nine per cent.
Between 2003 and 2010, a total of 442,560 adults from the study population died from all
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20150624/health-fitness/traffic-noise-could-shorten-life.573871[25/06/2015 10:09:04]
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Traffic noise ‘could shorten life’ - timesofmalta.com
causes, of whom 291,139 were elderly.
The scientists looked levels of road traffic noise between 7am and 11pm, and at night
between 11pm and 7am, across a range of different postcodes and correlated their findings
with death and hospital admission rates.
A number of factors – including individuals’ age and sex as well as ethnicity, smoking levels,
air pollution and socio-economic deprivation – were taken into account.
Commenting on the findings, Francesco Cappuccio, chair of Cardiovascular Medicine and
Epidemiology at the University of Warwick, said: “The results do not imply a direct causeeffect relationship. However, they are consistent with other evidence to suggest a possible
causal link.
“For instance, it has been well established that nocturnal traffic noise disrupts sleep quantity
and quality. If sustained over time, these disturbances, like sleep deprivation, have been
associated with a 12 per cent increased risk of all-cause mortality, mainly due to a 15 per
cent increase in stroke events and high blood pressure.
“Public health policies must pay more attention to this emerging evidence.”
Tim Chico, consultant cardiologist at the University of Sheffield, said: “This study cannot and
does not prove that noise causes cardiovascular disease, although its findings are consistent
with other studies showing that noise increases blood pressure, and this could contribute to
developing cardiovascular disease.
“There may be other factors that link high noise areas with cardiovascular disease, and it is
difficult to take all of these into account. Nevertheless, given what we know about traffic
emissions increasing heart disease, we should remember that travelling by foot or bike is
definitely healthier – both for you and for the people around you.”
Professor Jeremy Pearson, associate medical director at the British Heart Foundation, said:
“This carefully conducted study shows that there is a detectable, but very small, excess risk of
cardiovascular death among people chronically exposed to greater levels of traffic noise.
“The investigators tried to take account of other related factors, in particular traffic-generated
air pollution – which is already known to significantly increase risk.
“Their results suggest that reducing air pollution from traffic is more important for heart health
than reducing noise.”
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http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20150624/health-fitness/traffic-noise-could-shorten-life.573871[25/06/2015 10:09:04]