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Traffic noise can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, says study

Traffic noise can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, says study

A noise pollution more specifically the traffic noise , may be related to a greater risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. This is what a study published on Friday (26) in the journal Circulation Researchfrom the American Heart Association.

The research was carried out by an international group of experts in noise from the Copenhagen Cancer Institute (Denmark), from Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH), from Perelman School of Medicine from the University of Philadelphia (USA) and the Department of Cardiology at Mainz University Medical Center. They analyzed recent epidemiological data and found strong evidence that transport noise is closely linked to cardiovascular and brain diseases.

Recent epidemiological studies have demonstrated that traffic noise, such as road, rail or aircraft noise, increases the risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, with evidence for the development of cardiometabolic diseases such as ischemic heart disease, heart failure, stroke. Cerebral) and diabetes.

According to the WHO (World Health Organization), more than 1.6 million years of healthy life are lost every year in Western Europe due to traffic-related noise. Noise from nighttime traffic, in particular, leads to frequent interruptions in sleep, increased stress levels, and increased oxidative stress in the vascular system and brain. This increases the formation of free radicals, which may be associated with the development of various diseases, such as vascular disorders, inflammation and hypertension.

For the current study, the research team focused on the indirect effects that traffic-related noise pollution could cause — that is, non-auditory effects. To do this, they carried out an analysis of the most recent scientific evidence on the subject.

According to the authors, a recent analysis on traffic noise and cardiovascular disease integrated into the review article impressively demonstrates that for every 10 dBa, the risk of developing cardiovascular disease increases significantly by 3.2%.

According to the researchers, noise can cause effects on genetic networks, epigenetic pathways, circadian rhythm, signaling along the neuronal-cardiovascular axis, oxidative stress, inflammation and metabolism.

“With a growing proportion of the population exposed to harmful traffic noise even after the end of the COVID pandemic, noise control efforts and noise abatement laws are of great importance for future public health”, summarizes the author main author of the article, Thomas Münzel, senior professor at the University Medical Center Mainz. “It is also important to us that traffic noise is now finally recognized as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease due to the strong evidence.”

Source: CNN Brasil