Living near an airport or busy street may not just beunpleasant, but unhealthy as well. Hypertension and a rise in blood pressuremay be tied to noise, according to studies published in the European HeartJournal as well as the Environmental Health Perspectives journal.

Environmental HealthPerspectives Journal

4,861 individuals who had lived at least five years near amajor European airport were studied to see if there was a link between airplanenoise and hypertension. The study concluded that for every 10 decibel increasein noise exposure there is a 14% rise in the risk of high blood pressure. Dailyexposure to road noise, averaging over 65 decibels, was also shown to increasethe risk of hypertension, oddly in women only, by more than 50%. (Song)

European HeartJournal Study

A British team studied 140 people who lived near airports inLondon, Athens, Milan and Stockholm. While the participants slept, their bloodpressure was recorded every 15 minutes, using ambulatory blood pressuremonitors, which was later analyzed in relation to noise level in the room. (Reinberg)

Researchers found that there wasa direct correlation between noise and rise in blood pressure. In the case ofairplane noise (at about 35 decibels), a 6.2 mmHg increase in systolic bloodpressure and a 7.4 mmHg increase in diastolic pressure were recorded (arefrigerator hum is only about 40 decibels loud!). The researchers also foundthat the noise source did not seem to matter, as similar responses were foundwhen the noise came from a snoring partner or road noise.  The study also noted that that in the case ofairplane noise, a 5 dB rise in the noise level resulted in another 0.66 mmHgrise in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure. (Imperial)

"The study adds to the literature that noxious andstressful exposures have adverse cardiovascular consequences," said Dr.Harlan M. Krumholz, professor of medicine at Yale University School of Medicine."Whether all people are affected similarly and whether this responsecorrelates with a higher risk of heart disease is not clear, but it seemssensible to assume that a noisy environment is not good for health,? (Reinberg)

SOURCES:

Imperial College London."Aircraft Noise Raises Blood Pressure Even While People Are Sleeping, SaysStudy. " 2-17-2008. ScienceDaily. Retrieved 8 September 2008 from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080213090530.htm.

Reinberg, Steven. ?AirplaneNoise Boosts Blood Pressure Even During Sleep?. 2-12-2008. HeathDay. Retrieved 9-5-2008 from http://www.hon.ch/News/HSN/612605.html.

Song, Sora. ?Nighttime Noise and Blood Pressure?. 2-13-08. Retrieved9-8-08 from http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1713178,00.html