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CC BY-NC-ND V4.0, Open Access
Journal article
Long-term aircraft noise exposure and risk of hypertension in postmenopausal women
Environmental research, Vol.218, pp.115037-115037
02/01/2023
PMID: 36502895
Appears in Aviation Sustainability Center (ASCENT)
Abstract
Studies of the association between aircraft noise and hypertension are complicated by inadequate control for potential confounders and a lack of longitudinal assessments, and existing evidence is inconclusive.
We evaluated the association between long-term aircraft noise exposure and risk of hypertension among post-menopausal women in the Women's Health Initiative Clinical Trials, an ongoing prospective U.S. cohort.
Day-night average (DNL) and night equivalent sound levels (Lnight) were modeled for 90 U.S. airports from 1995 to 2010 in 5-year intervals using the Aviation Environmental Design Tool and linked to participant geocoded addresses from 1993 to 2010. Participants with modeled exposures ≥45 A-weighted decibels (dB [A]) were considered exposed, and those outside of 45 dB(A) who also did not live in close proximity to unmodeled airports were considered unexposed. Hypertension was defined as systolic/diastolic blood pressure ≥140/90 mmHg or inventoried/self-reported antihypertensive medication use. Using time-varying Cox proportional hazards models, we estimated hazard ratios (HRs) for incident hypertension when exposed to DNL or Lnight ≥45 versus <45 dB(A), controlling for sociodemographic, behavioral, and environmental/contextual factors.
There were 18,783 participants with non-missing DNL exposure and 14,443 with non-missing Lnight exposure at risk of hypertension. In adjusted models, DNL and Lnight ≥45 db(A) were associated with HRs of 1.00 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.93, 1.08) and 1.06 (95%CI: 0.91, 1.24), respectively. There was no evidence supporting a positive exposure-response relationship, and findings were robust in sensitivity analyses. Indications of elevated risk were seen among certain subgroups, such as those living in areas with lower population density (HRinteraction: 0.84; 95%CI: 0.72, 0.98) or nitrogen dioxide concentrations (HRinteraction: 0.82; 95%CI: 0.71, 0.95), which may indicate lower ambient/road traffic noise. Our findings do not suggest a relationship between aircraft noise and incident hypertension among older women in the U.S., though associations in lower ambient noise settings merit further investigation.
•We assessed associations between aircraft noise exposure and risk of hypertension.•We found no positive associations among post-menopausal women.•Air pollution did not appear to confound the noise-hypertension relationship.•We examined modifiers and found indications in areas with lower ambient noise.
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Details
- Title
- Long-term aircraft noise exposure and risk of hypertension in postmenopausal women
- Creators
- Daniel D. Nguyen - Boston UniversityEric A. Whitsel - University of North Carolina at Chapel HillGregory A. Wellenius - Department of Environmental Health, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USAJonathan I. Levy - Boston UniversityJessica H. Leibler - Boston UniversityStephanie T. Grady - Boston UniversityJames D. Stewart - University of North Carolina at Chapel HillMatthew P. Fox - Boston UniversityJason M. Collins - University of North Carolina at Chapel HillMelissa N. Eliot - Brown UniversityAndrew Malwitz - Volpe National Transportation Systems CenterJoAnn E. Manson - Harvard UniversityJunenette L. Peters - Boston University
- Publication Details
- Environmental research, Vol.218, pp.115037-115037
- Academic Unit
- Aviation Sustainability Center (ASCENT); Noise
- Publisher
- Elsevier Inc
- Grants
- 13-C-AJFE-BU-002, Federal Aviation Administration (United States, Washington) - FAA
- Identifiers
- 99901007836701842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article