Traffic noise exposure ‘may be linked to higher heart attack risk’

New research from Germany has indicated that traffic noise exposure could influence a person's risk of having a heart attack.

Published in the Deutsches Arzteblatt International journal, the study came to this conclusion following an analysis of data from statutory health insurers covering more than one million Germans over the age of 40.

Addresses of people living in the Rhine-Main region were matched to road, rail and traffic noise exposure measurements for 2005, before comparing these trends to the distribution of patients who died of a heart attack up to 2014-15.

A statistically significant association was found between noise exposure and the risk of heart attack, with the level of traffic noise influencing not just the genesis but also the course of heart attacks.

The increase in risk was shown to be greatest with road and rail traffic noise, but lesser in the case of aircraft noises, which was explained by the fact that aircraft sounds never remain continuously above 65 dB.

It was stressed that these findings only indicate an association between traffic noise and heart attacks, but the high number of people affected by noise pollution mean more intensive efforts to curb traffic noise may be needed.