Association of road traffic noise exposure and prevalence of coronary artery disease: A cross-sectional study in North India

Abstract

Epidemiological studies have established that noise from transportation sources exceeding the safe limits elevates the risk for cardiovascular diseases. The results however have remained heterogeneous. The present study was conducted to investigate the association between road traffic noise exposure and prevalence of coronary artery disease besides sub-group analysis was performed for identifying the most susceptible population. Traffic noise exposure was measured using the L den metric in both continuous and categorical forms. A cross-sectional study was performed and information about sociodemographic, lifestyle, and health-related factors was collected. Noise level < 60 dB(A) representing the quiet areas was used as the reference group. Univariate and multivariate logistic regressions were performed to estimate the odds for self-reported coronary artery disease concerning road traffic noise after adjusting for confounding variables. The residents living in noisy areas were found to have a 2.25 times higher risk per 5 dB(A) increment in the noise levels (95% CI = 1.38 to 3.67). Males were at a higher risk of CAD (OR = 2.61; 95% CI = 1.84 to 3.72) as compared to females (OR = 2.07; 95% CI = 1.37-3.13). The subgroup analysis revealed that being sensitive to noise, belonging to a higher age group, reporting higher stress levels, and poor sleep quality were associated with higher risk. The study also provides evidence that exposure to noise levels greater than 60 dB(A) is associated with the prevalence of coronary artery disease in adults.

Assessment of Potential Health Risk Due to Traffic-Induced Sound Pollution: A Study in Khulna City, Bangladesh

“…Another study reveals that according to their verbal answers, those who experience loud sounds for most of the day must be significantly affected by high blood pressure, mood swings, blood pressure, hearing loss, sleep disturbances, and anxiety problems. The residents living in noisy areas were found to have 2.25 times higher risk of noise levels (Gilani and Mir, 2021).…”

Circulatory health risks from additive multi-pollutant models: short-term exposure to three common air pollutants in Canada

“…Finally, we did not account for the possible effects of environmental noise (e.g., nighttime road traffic), which has been shown to be related to symptoms of insomnia (Evandt et al 2017 ; Halperin 2014 ). By way of compromised sleep, an indirect pathway has been recently proposed between environmental noise and adverse cardiovascular outcomes (Gilani and Mir 2021 , 2022 ), which may confound air pollution exposure related health risks.…”

Modeling of Traffic Noise along Urban Arterials in Irbid City of Jordan

“…Khreis et al (2016) indicated that traffic noise had been associated with all-cause premature death, cardiovascular death, adverse productive outcomes and an increased risk of stress and aggression. In addition to lowering academic and occupational performance, the adverse health effects of traffic noise include high blood pressure, decreased human hearing sensitivity, ischemic heart disease, artery disease, anger, anxiety, headaches, disturbed sleep, stress and psychological disorders (Gilani & Mir, 2021;Roswall et al, 2017;Vijay et al, 2015). However, these effects also largely depend on the level of noise and the length of exposure.…”