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Articles in Noise exposure has an effect on stress, hypertension, blood pressure, and heart disease.

  • In a meta-analysis of 43 studies of noise exposure and heart disease, exposure to road traffic noise was associated with higher risk for myocardial infarction and ischemic heart disease than in the general population, and exposure to air traffic noise was associated with consultation with a doctor about heart problems, use of cardiovascular medications, and angina pectoralis.

    Van Kempen EEMM, Kruize H, Boshuizen HC, Amelin CB, Staatsen BAM, de Hollander AEM. 2002. The association between noise exposure and blood pressure and ischemic heart disease: A meta-analysis. Environmental Health Perspective 110:307-317.

  • Men exposed to sound levels of outdoor traffic noise more than 70 dB(A) during the day were 30% more likely to have had a myocardial infarction than those whose noise exposure was not above 60 dB(A). Men who had lived at their present address for more than 10 years were 80% more likely to have had an MI.

    Babisch W, Beule B, Schust M, Kersten N, Ising H. 2005. Traffic noise and risk of myocardial infarction. Epidemiology 16:33-40.

  • A case-control study in West Berlin found a 32% higher odds of heart attack in men who had lived for at least 15 years on streets with 6-22 hours per day of noise levels above 70 dB(A) compared to those who lived on streets with noise measuring less than 60 dB(A).

    Babisch W, Ising H, Kruppa B, et. al. 1994. The incidence of myocardial infarction and its relation to road traffic noice ? the Berlin case-control studies. Environ Int 20:469-474.

  • Non habitual noise causes an increase of adrenaline. People working for 2 days with exposure to car racing noise (85-100 dB(A)) had significant increase of adrenaline, serum Magnesium, a decrease in erythrocytes, and an increase in total cholesterol in blood serum (risk factor for heart attack).

    Ising H, Dienel D, Gunther T, Markert B. 1980. Health effects of traffic noise. Intern Arch of Occupational and Environmental Health 47:179-190.

  • The combination of noise and poor quality housing has been associated with higher stress and stress hormone levels.

    Evans G, Marcynyszyn LA. 2004 Environmental Justice, Cumulative Environmental Risk, and Health among Low- and Middle-Income Children in Upstate New York. American Journal of Public Health 94:1942-1944

  • Among men who had lived in their homes for more than 10 years, incidence of hypertension and use of hypertension medication increased with increasing road traffic noise.

    Ohrstrom E, Barregard L, Andersson E, Skanberg A, Svensson H, Angerheim P. 2007. Annoyance due to single and combined sound exposure from railway and road traffic. J Acoust Soc Am 122 (5):2642-52.

  • People who have had long-term exposure to road traffic noise of 50 dB or higher have almost 40% higher odds of having heart attacks than those living in areas with less than 50 dB of noise (odds ratio 1.38).

    Selander J, Milsson ME, Gluhm G, Rosenlund M, Lindqvist M, Nise G, Pershagen G. 2009. Long-term exposure to road traffic noise and myocardial infarction. Epidemiology 20(2).

  • It is almost twice as likely (OR = 1.9) that people living in neighborhoods for more than 10 years with noise levels of 56 – 70 dB (road and railway noise). have hypertension than those who do not live in noisy neighborhoods Hypertension among men living in noisy neighborhoods was almost 4 times more likely (3.8), while no effect was found for women.

    Barregard L, Bonde E, Ohrstrom E. 2009. Risk of htypertension from exposure to road traffic noise in a population-based sample. Occup Environ Med. Epublished 2 Feb 2009.)

  • In studies with dB(A) ranging from 95 - 125, elevated blood pressure levels in school-aged children is associated with living or going to school near a major chronic noise source (e.g., airport, traffic, trains).

    Evans, G.W. & Lepore, S.J., (1993). Nonauditory effects of noise on children: A critical review. Children's Environments, 10(1), pp.31-51.