ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Road traffic noise and hypertension

Gösta Leon Bluhm¹, Niklas Berglind², Emma Nordling², Mats Rosenlund²

¹ Unit of Environmental Epidemiology, Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
² Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, Stockholm County Council, Stockholm, Sweden

Correspondence to:
Dr G Bluhm
Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, Stockholm County Council, Norrbacka 3rd Floor, Karolinska University Hospital, SE-171 76 Stockholm, Sweden;gosta.bluhm{at}ki.se

Background: It has been suggested that noise exposure increases the risk of hypertension. Road traffic is the dominant source of community noise exposure.

Objective: To study the association between exposure to residential road traffic noise and hypertension in an urban municipality.

Methods: The study population comprised randomly selected subjects aged 19–80 years. A postal questionnaire provided information on individual characteristics, including diagnosis of hypertension. The response rate was 77%, resulting in a study population of 667 subjects. The outdoor equivalent traffic noise level (Leq 24 h) at the residence of each individual was determined using noise-dispersion models and manual noise assessments. The individual noise exposure was classified in units of 5 dB(A), from <45 dB(A) to >65 dB(A).

Results: The odds ratio (OR) for hypertension adjusted for age, smoking, occupational status and house type was 1.38 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.06 to 1.80) per 5 dB(A) increase in noise exposure. The association seemed stronger among women (OR 1.71; 95% CI 1.17 to 2.50) and among those who had lived at the address for >10 years (OR 1.93; 95% CI 1.29 to 2.83). Analyses of categorical exposure variables suggested an exposure–response relationship. The strongest association between exposure to traffic noise and hypertension was found among those with the least expected misclassification of true individual exposure, as indicated by not having triple-glazed windows, living in an old house and having the bedroom window facing a street (OR 2.47; 95% CI 1.38 to 4.43).

Conclusion: The results of our study suggest an association between exposure to residential road traffic noise and hypertension.

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