ABSTRACT
The importance of non-acoustical factors including the type of visual environment on human noise perception becomes increasingly recognized. In order to reveal the relationships between long-term noise annoyance and different types of neighborhood views, 2033 questionnaire responses were collected for studying the effect of perceptions of different combinations of views of sea, urban river, greenery, and/or noise barrier on the annoyance responses from residents living in high-rise apartments in Hong Kong. The collected responses were employed to formulate a multivariate model to predict the probability of invoking a high annoyance response from residents. Results showed that views of sea, urban river, or greenery could lower the probability, while views of noise barrier could increase the probability. Views of greenery had a stronger noise moderation capability than views of sea or urban river. The presence of an interaction effect between views of water and views of noise barrier exerted a negative influence on the noise annoyance moderation capability. The probability due to exposure to an environment containing views of noise barriers and urban rivers would be even higher than that due to exposure to an environment containing views of noise barriers alone.
Subject(s)
Auditory Perception , Automobiles , Environmental Exposure/adverse effects , Housing , Irritable Mood , Noise, Transportation/adverse effects , Visual Perception , Acoustic Stimulation , Adult , Aged , City Planning , Environmental Monitoring/methods , Facility Design and Construction , Female , Hong Kong , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Photic Stimulation , Surveys and Questionnaires , Time FactorsABSTRACT
Although clinical coronary heart disease and many cardiovascular risk factors are well known to aggregate within families, the heritability of carotid artery intima-media thickness (IMT) is less well documented. We report IMT heritability estimates in Mexican American, Salvadoran American, or Guatemalan American (all referred to as Latino) families ascertained through a hypertensive proband. IMT and cardiovascular risk factors (age, sex, blood pressure, body mass index, lipids, fasting glucose, and insulin sensitivity) were measured in 204 adult offspring of 69 hypertensive probands, along with 82 parents (54 probands and 28 spouses). In the offspring, variance component analysis revealed a heritability for IMT of 64% (P< 0.0001) after adjustment for significant cardiovascular risk factors. Genetic factors accounted for 50% of the total variation in IMT, whereas significant cardiovascular risk factors explained 22% (14% were due to age). For offspring and parents combined, adjusted IMT heritability was less, 34% (P=0.0005), with genetic factors accounting for 18% of the total IMT variation, whereas significant cardiovascular risk factors explained 46% (38% were due to age). We conclude that variation in common carotid artery IMT is heritable in Latino families with a hypertensive proband. Heritability is particularly evident in younger family members, suggesting that acquired factors contribute progressively to IMT variability with aging.
