Aircraft Noise Tied to Cardiac-Linked Hospital Admission

(HealthDay News) – Aircraft noise is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular-related hospital admission, according to two studies published online Oct. 8 in BMJ.

Anna L. Hansell, MB, BCh, PhD, from Imperial College London, and colleagues conducted a small area study in 12 London boroughs and nine districts exposed to aircraft noise related to Heathrow airport to examine the correlation of aircraft noise with risk of stroke, coronary heart disease, and cardiovascular disease. The researchers observed significant linear tends of increasing risk of hospital admissions with both daytime and nighttime aircraft noise. Compared with areas with the lowest level of daytime aircraft noise, in areas with the highest level the risk of hospital admissions for stroke, coronary heart disease, and cardiovascular disease were significantly increased (relative risk, 1.24, 1.21, and 1.14, respectively), after adjustment.

Andrew W. Correia, PhD, from the NMR Group in Somerville, MA, and colleagues conducted a multi-airport retrospective study involving about six million older people (aged ≥65 years) residing near airports in the United States to examine the correlation between exposure to aircraft noise and the risk of hospitalization for cardiovascular diseases. The researchers found that, after controlling for covariates, in the 90th centile noise exposure metric, a zip code with 10dB higher noise exposure had a 3.5% increased risk of cardiovascular hospital admission.

“Our results provide evidence of a statistically significant association between exposure to aircraft noise and cardiovascular health, particularly at higher exposure levels,” Correia and colleagues conclude.

Full Text – Hansell
Full Text – Correia
Editorial