Noise causes cardiovascular disease: it's time to act
Thomas Münzel1,2,3, Andreas Daiber4,5,6, Nicole Engelmann7,8
1Department of Cardiology, Cardiology I, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg-University, Mainz, Germany. tmuenzel@uni-mainz.de.
Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology
|December 10, 2024
Summary
Chronic transportation noise significantly increases cardiovascular disease risk, including heart attack and stroke. This environmental stressor causes oxidative stress and inflammation, leading to vascular damage, with no habituation observed.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Health
- Cardiovascular Epidemiology
- Toxicology
Background:
- Chronic transportation noise is a widespread environmental stressor.
- Established links exist between transportation noise and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk.
- The World Health Organization (WHO) recognizes heightened CVD risk with increased noise levels.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review epidemiologic and translation studies on transportation noise and adverse cardiovascular effects.
- To synthesize evidence from the 2018 WHO Environmental Noise Guidelines and recent high-quality systematic reviews.
Main Methods:
- Utilized an Umbrella+ review methodology.
- Included high-quality systematic reviews (post-2015) assessed by AMSTAR 2.
- Focused on literature search quality, risk of bias, and meta-analysis.
Main Results:
- Long-term exposure to high road traffic noise is linked to premature death, ischemic heart disease (IHD), sleep disturbances, and annoyance.
- Noise exposure mechanisms include oxidative stress, inflammation, endothelial dysfunction, and circadian disruption.
- Vulnerable populations, like those with existing CVD, face heightened risks; habituation does not occur.
Conclusions:
- Chronic transportation noise poses a significant threat to cardiovascular health.
- Understanding the mechanistic pathways is crucial for mitigation strategies.
- Public health initiatives should address noise pollution to reduce CVD burden.
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