Traffic noise, a novel risk factor for cardiovascular diseases
An international group of noise experts from the Copenhagen Cancer Institute (Denmark), the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH), the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Philadelphia (USA) and the Department of Cardiology at the Mainz University Medical Center have analyzed recent epidemiological data and found strong evidence that transportation noise is closely linked to cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease. As a result, the researchers call for traffic noise to be recognized as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. The results of their analyses were published today in the renowned journal of the American Heart Association, Circulation Research.
Epidemiological studies have shown that traffic noise - such as road, rail, or aircraft noise - increases the risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, with high-quality evidence for the development of cardiometabolic diseases such as ischemic heart disease, heart failure, stroke, and diabetes. According to the WHO, more than 1.6 million healthy years of life are lost every year in Western Europe due to traffic-related noise.
Night-time traffic noise, in particular, leads to frequent interruptions and shortening of sleep, an increase in stress hormone levels and increased oxidative stress in the vascular system and brain - and thus to the increased formation of free radicals. These factors can promote vascular disorders, inflammation, and high blood pressure, thereby increasing the risk of cardiovascular disease. In the current review, the international team of authors from Denmark, the USA, Switzerland, and Germany focused on transportation noise's indirect, non-auditory, cardiovascular health effects.
The authors provide an updated overview of the epidemiologic research on the effects of transportation noise on cardiovascular risk factors and disease, discuss the mechanistic findings from the latest clinical and experimental studies, and propose new risk markers to address noise-induced cardiovascular effects in the general population. A recent analysis on traffic noise and cardiovascular disease integrated into the review article impressively demonstrates that for every 10 dBA, the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases such as heart attack, stroke, and heart failure increases significantly by 3.2 percent.
The authors also explain in detail the possible effects of noise on changes in gene networks, epigenetic pathways, circadian rhythm, signaling along the neuronal-cardiovascular axis, oxidative stress, inflammation, and metabolism. Finally, current, and future noise protection strategies are described and the available evidence on noise as a cardiovascular risk factor is discussed.
"With an increasing proportion of the population exposed to harmful traffic noise even after the COVID pandemic has ended, noise control efforts and noise reduction laws are of great importance for future public health," summarizes the lead author of the paper, Prof. Dr. Thomas Münzel, Senior Professor at the University Medical Center Mainz. "It is also important for us that traffic noise is now finally recognized as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease due to the strong evidence."
Publication
T. Münzel, M. Molitor, M. Kuntic, O. Hahad, M. Röösli, N. Engelmann, M. Basner, A. Daiber, M. Sørensen, Transportation Noise Pollution and Cardiovascular Health, Circulation Research, 2024;134:1113-1135
DOI: 10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.123.323584
https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.123.323584
Contact
Univ.-Prof. Dr. Thomas Münzel, senior professor, Department of Cardiology, Cardiology I
University Medical Center Mainz, phone +49 (0)1742189542, email: tmuenzel@uni-mainz.de
Press Contact
Dr. Renée Dillinger-Reiter, PR Department, University Medical Center Mainz, phone +49 (0)6131 17-7424, email: pr@unimedizin-mainz.de
About the University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz
The University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz is the only medical institution of supra-maximum supply in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate and an internationally recognized science location. Medical and scientific specialists at more than 60 clinics, institutes and departments work interdisciplinarily to treat more than 345,000 patients per year. Highly specialized patient care, research and teaching are inseparably intertwined. More than 3,500 medicine and dentistry students as well as around 670 future medical, commercial and technical professionals are trained in Mainz. With a workforce of approximately 8,700 colleagues the University Medical Center Mainz is one of the largest employers in the region and an important driver of growth and innovation. Find more information online at https://www.unimedizin-mainz.de
Wissenschaftlicher Ansprechpartner:
Univ.-Prof. Dr. Thomas Münzel, senior professor, Department of Cardiology, Cardiology I
University Medical Center Mainz, phone +49 (0)1742189542, email: tmuenzel@uni-mainz.de
Originalpublikation:
T. Münzel, M. Molitor, M. Kuntic, O. Hahad, M. Röösli, N. Engelmann, M. Basner, A. Daiber, M. Sørensen, Transportation Noise Pollution and Cardiovascular Health, Circulation Research, 2024;134:1113-1135
DOI: 10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.123.323584
https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.123.323584
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