Local determinants of road traffic noise levels versus determinants of air pollution levels in a Mediterranean city

Twenty-four healthy students walked at least four times for 1 hour under each of the four settings: by a busy road; by a busy road wearing ear plugs; in a park; and in a park but exposed to traffic noise (65 dB) through speakers. Particle mass (smaller than 2.5 and 1 µm, PM1 and PM2.5, (respectively)particle number and noise levels were measured throughout each walk. Lung function and exhaled nitric oxide (NO) were measured before, immediately after, 1 hour after, and approximately 24 h after each walk. Blood pressure and heart-rate variability were measured every 15 min during each walk. Air pollution levels reduced lung function levels; noise levels reduced systolic blood pressure and heart-rate variability.

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Road Traffic Noise at the Residence, Annoyance, and Cognitive Function in Elderly Women

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph16101790 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 16 (10) ◽

pp. 1790 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Kateryna B. Fuks ◽

Claudia Wigmann ◽

Hicran Altug ◽

Tamara Schikowski

Keyword(s):

Air Pollution ◽

Cognitive Function ◽

Health Effects ◽

Elderly Women ◽

Road Traffic ◽

Traffic Noise ◽

Road Traffic Noise ◽

Noise Levels ◽

Noise Annoyance ◽

Neuropsychological Assessment Battery

The detrimental effects of traffic noise on cognition in children are well documented. Not much is known about the health effects in adults. We investigated the association of residential exposure to road traffic noise and annoyance due to road traffic noise with cognitive function in a cohort of 288 elderly women from the longitudinal Study on the influence of Air pollution on Lung function, Inflammation and Aging (SALIA) in Germany. Residential noise levels—weighted 24-h mean (LDEN) and nighttime noise (LNIGHT)—were modeled for the most exposed facade of dwellings and dichotomized at ≥50 dB(A). Traffic noise annoyance (day and night) was estimated by questionnaire. Cognitive function was assessed using the Consortium to Establish a Registry on Alzheimer’s Disease (CERAD-Plus) Neuropsychological Assessment Battery. The modeled noise levels were associated with impaired total cognition and the constructional praxis domain, independently of air pollution. Self-reported noise annoyance was associated with better performance in semantic memory and constructional praxis domains. This finding should be interpreted with caution since we could not control for potential confounding by hearing loss. Noise levels and annoyance were associated, but their health effects seemed mutually independent.

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Road Traffic Noise Levels at Different Types of Residential Areas in Nibong Tebal, Penang

International Journal of Integrated Engineering ◽

10.30880/ijie.2019.11.01.013 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Herni Halim ◽

◽

Nur Fatin Najiyah Hamid ◽

Mohamad Firdaus Mahamad Yusob ◽

Nur Atiqah Mohamad Nor ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Road Traffic ◽

Traffic Noise ◽

Road Traffic Noise ◽

Residential Areas ◽

Noise Levels ◽

Different Types

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Long-term exposure to ambient air pollution and road traffic noise and asthma incidence in adults: The Danish Nurse cohort

Environment International ◽

10.1016/j.envint.2021.106464 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 152 ◽

pp. 106464 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Shuo Liu ◽

Youn-Hee Lim ◽

Marie Pedersen ◽

Jeanette T. Jørgensen ◽

Heresh Amini ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Air Pollution ◽

Road Traffic ◽

Traffic Noise ◽

Ambient Air ◽

Ambient Air Pollution ◽

Road Traffic Noise ◽

Asthma Incidence

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Long-term air pollution and road traffic noise exposure and COPD: the Danish Nurse Cohort

European Respiratory Journal ◽

10.1183/13993003.04594-2020 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 2004594

Author(s):

Shuo Liu ◽

Youn-Hee Lim ◽

Marie Pedersen ◽

Jeanette T. Jørgensen ◽

Heresh Amini ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Air Pollution ◽

Noise Exposure ◽

Cox Regression ◽

Road Traffic ◽

Traffic Noise ◽

Potential Interaction ◽

Chronic Obstructive ◽

Road Traffic Noise ◽

Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

BackgroundWhile air pollution has been linked to the development of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), evidence on the role of environmental noise is just emerging. We examined the associations of long-term exposure to air pollution and road traffic noise with COPD incidence.MethodsWe defined COPD incidence for 24 538 female nurses from the Danish Nurse Cohort (age>44 years) as the first hospital contact between baseline (1993 or 1999) and 2015. We estimated residential annual mean concentrations of particulate matter with diameter<2.5 µm (PM2.5) since 1990 and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) since 1970 by the Danish DEHM/UBM/AirGIS modeling system, and road traffic noise (Lden) since 1970 by the Nord2000 model. Time-varying Cox regression models were applied to assess the associations of air pollution and road traffic noise with COPD incidence.Results977 nurses developed COPD during 18.6 years’ mean follow-up. We observed associations with COPD for all three exposures with hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of 1.19 (1.01, 1.41) per 6.26 µg·m−3 for PM2.5, 1.13 (1.05, 1.20) per 8.19 µg·m−3 for NO2, and 1.15 (1.06, 1.25) per 10 dB for Lden. Associations with NO2 and Lden attenuated slightly after mutual adjustment, but were robust to adjustment for PM2.5. Associations with PM2.5 were attenuated to null after adjustment for either NO2 or Lden. No potential interaction effect was observed between air pollutants and noise.ConclusionsLong-term exposure to air pollution, especially traffic-related NO2, and road traffic noise were independently associated with COPD.

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Road traffic noise, air pollution and cardiovascular events in a Swedish cohort

Environmental Research ◽

10.1016/j.envres.2020.109446 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 185 ◽

pp. 109446 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Eva M. Andersson ◽

Mikael Ögren ◽

Peter Molnár ◽

David Segersson ◽

Annika Rosengren ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Air Pollution ◽

Cardiovascular Events ◽

Road Traffic ◽

Traffic Noise ◽

Road Traffic Noise ◽

Swedish Cohort

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Associations of Combined Exposures to Surrounding Green, Air Pollution, and Road Traffic Noise with Cardiometabolic Diseases

Environmental Health Perspectives ◽

10.1289/ehp3857 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 127 (8) ◽

pp. 087003 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Jochem O. Klompmaker ◽

Nicole A. H. Janssen ◽

Lizan D. Bloemsma ◽

Ulrike Gehring ◽

Alet H. Wijga ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Air Pollution ◽

Road Traffic ◽

Traffic Noise ◽

Road Traffic Noise ◽

Cardiometabolic Diseases ◽

Combined Exposures

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Road Noise Levels in Urban Environment Compared to Specification Limits. The Case of the City of Larissa, Greece

Periodica Polytechnica Civil Engineering ◽

10.3311/ppci.14868 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Emmanouil A. Papadimitriou ◽

Grigorios P. Papageorgiou ◽

Nikolaos Alamanis ◽

Theodosia-Niki Diakosavva

Keyword(s):

Road Traffic ◽

Traffic Noise ◽

Road Traffic Noise ◽

Noise Levels ◽

Road Noise ◽

Greek City ◽

Limit Values ◽

High Noise ◽

Specification Limits ◽

The City

Greece, as well as other developed countries, is facing the growing problem of road traffic noise. It stands for a severe problem in the urban areas of the country, including the city of Larissa. The root cause is the huge increase in traffic volume and the lack of adequate urban infrastructure planning. Estimation of the level of road traffic noise is usually conducted using acoustic meters. It is widely accepted that most of the cities’ population is exposed to high noise levels due to controversial traffic capacity. Moreover, high noise levels are strongly related to phycological and neurological diseases. Thus, it is of utmost importance, the road noise levels to be lower than dictated by relevant specification limits. To develop better noise-environment policies, relative research should focus on the measurement of in-situ noise levels, so as appropriate for each case corrective measures to be taken. The present paper examines the noise levels of a center road of the 5th Greek city, in terms of population, compared to worldwide adopted noise specification limits. The clear aim stands for finding the percentage of road noise that exceeds commonly accepted threshold values, namely limit values of European Union and World Health Organization. The results of this research strongly indicate that measured noise values override upper limit values in a certain extent.

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