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Environment
Original article
Does aircraft noise exposure increase the risk of hypertension in the population living near airports in France?
  1. Anne-Sophie Evrard1,
  2. Marie Lefèvre1,
  3. Patricia Champelovier2,
  4. Jacques Lambert2,3,
  5. Bernard Laumon4
  1. 1Univ Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon1, IFSTTAR, UMRESTTE, UMR T_9405, F-69675, Bron, France
  2. 2IFSTTAR, Planning, Mobilities and Environment Department, Transport and Environment Laboratory (LTE), Cité des Mobilités, 25 avenue François Mitterrand, F-69675, Bron, France
  3. 3Currently retired, Villeurbanne, France
  4. 4IFSTTAR, Transport, Health and Safety Department, Cité des Mobilités, 25 avenue François Mitterrand, F-69675, Bron, France
  1. Correspondence to Dr Anne-Sophie Evrard, IFSTTAR, Cité des Mobilités, 25 avenue François Mitterrand, Bron F-69675, France; anne-sophie.evrard{at}ifsttar.fr

Abstract

Objectives The largest study until now around 6 major European airports, the HYENA (HYpertension and Exposure to Noise near Airports) study, reported an excess risk of hypertension related to long-term aircraft noise exposure. The DEBATS (Discussion on the health effects of aircraft noise) study investigated the relationship between this exposure and the risk of hypertension in men and in women near French airports.

Methods Blood pressure of 1244 participants older than 18 years of age was measured. Information about health, socioeconomic and lifestyle factors was collected by means of a face-to-face questionnaire performed at home by an interviewer. Aircraft noise exposure was assessed for each participant's home address using noise maps. They were calculated with the Integrated Noise Model with a 1 dB(A)-resolution. The major potential confounders being risk factors for hypertension were included in the logistic regression models: age, occupational activity, body mass index, physical activity and alcohol consumption.

Results After adjustment for the main potential confounders, an exposure–response relationship was evidenced between the risk of hypertension and aircraft noise exposure at night for men only. A 10-dB(A) increase in Lnight was associated with an OR of 1.34 (95% CI 1.00 to 1.97).

Conclusions These findings contribute to the overall evidence suggesting that aircraft noise exposure at night-time may increase the risk of hypertension in men. Hypertension is a well-known and established risk factor for cardiovascular disease. The association reported in the present study between aircraft noise and hypertension implies that aircraft noise might be a risk factor also for cardiovascular disease.

  • aircraft noise exposure
  • blood pressure
  • hypertension

https://doi.org/10.1136/oemed-2016-103648

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    Footnotes

    • Contributors A-SE and BL with JL and PC conceived and designed the study. A-SE and ML conducted the study. JL interpreted the aircraft noise data and PC interpreted the annoyance data. ML was involved in data extraction and preparation and carried out the statistical analyses, supervised by A-SE and BL. The analyses were interpreted by A-SE and ML with BL, JL and PC. A-SE drafted the initial report; all coauthors revised the report and approved the final version. A-SE is responsible for the overall content as the guarantor of this paper.

    • Funding This study was supported by funds from the French Ministry of Health, the French Ministry of Environment and the French Civil Aviation Authority.

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Patient consent Obtained.

    • Ethics approval This study was approved by two national authorities in France, the French Advisory Committee for Data Processing in Health Research and the French National Commission for Data Protection and the Liberties.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

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