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. 2008 Mar;116(3):329-33.
doi: 10.1289/ehp.10775.

Hypertension and exposure to noise near airports: the HYENA study

Lars Jarup  1 , Wolfgang Babisch, Danny Houthuijs, Göran Pershagen, Klea Katsouyanni, Ennio Cadum, Marie-Louise Dudley, Pauline Savigny, Ingeburg Seiffert, Wim Swart, Oscar Breugelmans, Gösta Bluhm, Jenny Selander, Alexandros Haralabidis, Konstantina Dimakopoulou, Panayota Sourtzi, Manolis Velonakis, Federica Vigna-Taglianti; HYENA study team
Collaborators, Affiliations

Hypertension and exposure to noise near airports: the HYENA study

Lars Jarup et al. Environ Health Perspect. 2008 Mar.

Erratum in

  • Environ Health Perspect. 2008 Jun;116(6):A241

Abstract

Background: An increasing number of people are exposed to aircraft and road traffic noise. Hypertension is an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease, and even a small contribution in risk from environmental factors may have a major impact on public health.

Objectives: The HYENA (Hypertension and Exposure to Noise near Airports) study aimed to assess the relations between noise from aircraft or road traffic near airports and the risk of hypertension.

Methods: We measured blood pressure and collected data on health, socioeconomic, and lifestyle factors, including diet and physical activity, via questionnaire at home visits for 4,861 persons 45-70 years of age, who had lived at least 5 years near any of six major European airports. We assessed noise exposure using detailed models with a resolution of 1 dB (5 dB for United Kingdom road traffic noise), and a spatial resolution of 250 x 250 m for aircraft and 10 x 10 m for road traffic noise.

Results: We found significant exposure-response relationships between night-time aircraft as well as average daily road traffic noise exposure and risk of hypertension after adjustment for major confounders. For night-time aircraft noise, a 10-dB increase in exposure was associated with an odds ratio (OR) of 1.14 [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.01-1.29]. The exposure-response relationships were similar for road traffic noise and stronger for men with an OR of 1.54 (95% CI, 0.99-2.40) in the highest exposure category (> 65 dB; p(trend) = 0.008).

Conclusions: Our results indicate excess risks of hypertension related to long-term noise exposure, primarily for night-time aircraft noise and daily average road traffic noise.

Keywords: aircraft; blood pressure; hypertension; noise; road traffic.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
ORs of hypertension in relation to aircraft noise (5-dB categories). LAeq,16hr (A) and Lnight (B) separately included in the model. Adjusted for country, age, sex, BMI, alcohol intake, education, and exercise. The error bars denote 95% CIs for the categorical (5-dB) analysis. The unbroken and broken curves show the ORs and corresponding 95% CIs for the continuous analysis.
Figure 2
Figure 2
ORs of hypertension in women (A) and men (B) in relation to road traffic noise (LAeq,24hr, 5-dB categories) separately included in the model. Adjusted for country, age, BMI, alcohol intake, education, and exercise. The error bars denote 95% CIs for the categorical (5-dB) analysis. The unbroken and broken curves show the ORs and corresponding 95% CIs for the continuous analysis.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Forest plot showing country-specific ORs for hypertension per 10-dB increase in noise exposure, in relation to (A) Lnight and (B) LAeq,16hr aircraft noise and (C) LAeq,24hr road traffic noise.
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