Aircraft noise increases heart attack risk

Study: Aircraft noise increases the risk of a heart attack
Continuous and heavy aircraft noise over a longer period increases the risk of suffering a heart attack. A Swiss study by the University of Bern points to this. The stronger and the longer the aircraft noise exposure lasts, the higher the risk of suffering an infarct.

Researchers at the University of Bern have found from a study that people who are exposed to a strong aircraft noise, also have an increased heart attack risk. The greater the aircraft noise and the longer the noise pollution, the greater the risk of suffering a heart attack. As the team of scientists led by Prof. Matthias Egger from the Institute for Social and Preventive Medicine at the University of Bern has determined, this context already applies from a noise level of 60 decibels. Most people are endangered who have been exposed to aircraft noise for at least 15 years. However, differences between men and women were also found. Thus, an increased risk of dying in women is not recognizable.

Heart attack risk also increases regardless of environmental impact
It has been scientifically proven that chronic and acute noise as well as environmental pollution in the air are considered risk factors for cardiovascular diseases. So far, only studies have been carried out in this context, which examined the relationship with regard to road noise. However, road noise and environmental pollution are hardly separable as important factors, as it was said. The Swiss study showed, however, that the risk of heart attacks increases due to aircraft noise pollution, regardless of air quality. Other serious and deadly diseases, such as various cancers or strokes, were not linked to aircraft noise. Interesting in this context is that the risk of heart attack was particularly high for people who live in old and poorly insulated houses. "This indicates that soundproofing measures can be effective in terms of health," explained Professor Egger.

Aircraft noise burdens the hormone and nervous system
The researchers can only guess why people have an increased risk of death if they are constantly exposed to aircraft noise. Noise is considered a stress factor that simultaneously affects the sympathetic nervous system and the hormonal system. This increases the risk of having a heart attack. However, according to the researchers, further studies are needed to include other risk factors such as smoking and overweight in the results. Eggers said: „Further studies are needed to clarify whether the observed association is causal. Unfortunately, important cardiovascular risk factors such as smoking or cholesterol could not be recorded in our study.“

„Overall, we were able to establish a clear link between the intensity and duration of aircraft noise and the risk of a person exposed to this noise pollution from dying from a heart attack. This risk is higher in men than in women and seems to be related to the poor sound insulation of old, non-renovated houses“, explained Martin Röösli.

The studies are based on a comprehensive dataset of more than 4.5 million people over 30 years of age from all over Switzerland (Swiss National Cohort Study). The study results were in the scientific journal „Epidemiology“ released.

Definition of noise pollution
Noise is unwanted, annoying and possibly harmful sound. Its action on humans leads directly to the perception by the ear (aural effects) and indirectly via the central nervous processing to physical and psychological reactions. According to the Federal Association against Aircraft Noise e.V., ongoing aircraft noise not only damages the cardiovascular system, but can also have negative health consequences on the human ear. For example, aircraft noise can cause acute or chronic deafness. (sb, 05.10.2010)

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Picture credits: Ulla Trampert