NOISE POLLUTION AND ARTERIAL HYPERTENSION

ABSTRACT

Environmental noise significantly impacts human health and well-being. It is a widespread problem in Europe, where at least one in five people are exposed to harmful levels of noise. Hearing loss is the most known health effect related to noise exposure. There is, however, growing data that links noise exposure to hypertension, coronary artery disease, and stroke. According to some theories, this relationship may be explained by the indirect pathway of noise exposure, which can cause sympathetic and endocrine activation, as well as several cognitive and emotional responses, including annoyance. Noise exposure leads to stress reactions independent of cognitive involvement. There is a possibility that noise exerts its effects directly through synaptic interactions, as well as through cognitive and emotional effects. Epidemiological studies indicate that nocturnal noise exposure has more profound health consequences. Nighttime noise exposure is associated with an increase in heart rate due to sympathetic activation or parasympathetic withdrawal, and with an increase in blood pressure as well as endothelial dysfunction. Hypertension is a common condition and is an important risk indicator for other cardiovascular diseases. Previous studies showed an association between noise exposure, blood pressure and arterial hypertension. Meta-analysis of cross-sectional studies found an increase of hypertension prevalence per 10 dB increase in daytime average road traffic noise level. There is, however, some heterogeneity among these studies. Prospective studies have also found an association between aircraft noise exposure and hypertension, supporting the cross-sectional findings. The analyses, of data from the large Hypertension and Exposure to Noise near Airports (HYENA) study, showed that an increase in nocturnal aircraft noise exposure per 10 dB was associated with an increased incidence of hypertension. The meaningful effect of night-time aircraft noise on arterial hypertension was also observed in the prospective observation of the subset of individuals from that study. In a longitudinal observation of 420 participants, higher aircraft noise exposure during the night significantly associated with the incidence of hypertension. Previous cross-sectional case-control study conducted in 2015, in 2 suburban areas of Krakow, Poland, revealed an increase in blood pressure and arterial stiffness as determined by carotid - femoral pulse wave velocity in individuals exposed to increased aircraft noise levels. However, even short-term noise reduction, as experienced during the COVID-19 lockdown, may reverse those unfavorable effects. As a result of these observations, noise mitigation strategies are important for cardiovascular health.