Plane noise linked to higher risk of heart disease
Print Edition
Exposure to high levels of aircraft noise near busy international airports has been linked to a higher risk of heart disease and strokes in two separate studies from Britain and the United States.
Researchers in London studied noise and hospital admissions around London Heathrow Airport, while a separate team analyzed data on 6 million Americans living near 89 airports in the United States.
Both studies found that people living with the highest levels of aircraft noise had increased risks of stroke, coronary heart disease and other cardiovascular diseases.
In the Heathrow study, the risks were around 10 to 20 percent higher in areas with highest levels of aircraft noise compared with the areas with least noise.
Stephen Stansfeld, a professor at Queen Mary University of London, said the results suggested that “aircraft noise exposure is not just a cause of annoyance, sleep disturbance, and reduced quality of life” but may also increase sickness and death from heart disease.
City and town planners “need to take this into account when extending airports in heavily populated areas or planning new airports,” he said.
The British research team set out to investigate the risks of stroke and heart disease in relation to aircraft noise among 3.6 million people living near Heathrow. Their results showed increased risks of stroke, coronary heart disease, and cardiovascular disease, especially among the 2 percent of the study population exposed to the highest levels of daytime and night time aircraft noise.
In a second study, researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health and Boston University School of Public Health looked at data for more than 6 million Americans aged 65 or over living near 89 US airports in 2009.
The results showed that people exposed to the highest noise levels, more than 55 dB, had the strongest link with hospitalizations for heart disease, and the link also remained after adjustment for socioeconomic status, demographic factors, air pollution, and proximity to roads.
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