Blood Pressure and Arterial Stiffness in Association With Aircraft Noise Exposure:Long-Term Observation and Potential Effect of COVID-19 Lockdown

Abstract

In a cross-sectional analysis of a case-control study in 2015, we revealed the association between increased arterial stiffness (pulse wave velocity) and aircraft noise exposure. In June 2020, we evaluated the long-term effects, and the impact of a sudden decline in noise exposure during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) lockdown, on blood pressure and pulse wave velocity, comparing 74 participants exposed to long-term day-evening-night aircraft noise level > 60 dB and 75 unexposed individuals. During the 5-year follow-up, the prevalence of hypertension increased in the exposed (42% versus 59%, P =0.048) but not in the unexposed group. The decline in noise exposure since April 2020 was accompanied with a significant decrease of noise annoyance, 24-hour systolic (121.2 versus 117.9 mm Hg; P =0.034) and diastolic (75.1 versus 72.0 mm Hg; P =0.003) blood pressure, and pulse wave velocity (10.2 versus 8.8 m/s; P =0.001) in the exposed group. Less profound decreases of these parameters were noticed in the unexposed group. Significant between group differences were observed for declines in office and night-time diastolic blood pressure and pulse wave velocity. Importantly, the difference in the reduction of pulse wave velocity between exposed and unexposed participants remained significant after adjustment for covariates (−1.49 versus −0.35 m/s; P =0.017). The observed difference in insomnia prevalence between exposed and unexposed individuals at baseline was no more significant at follow-up. Thus, long-term aircraft noise exposure may increase the prevalence of hypertension and accelerate arterial stiffening. However, even short-term noise reduction, as experienced during the COVID-19 lockdown, may reverse those unfavorable effects.

Reduced Aircraft Noise Pollution During COVID-19 Lockdown Is Beneficial to Public Cardiovascular Health: a Perspective on the Reduction of Transportation-Associated Pollution

“…This, in turn, favors the development of cardiovascular risk factors, such as arterial hypertension and accelerates atherosclerotic disease progression, contributing to the manifestation of cardiovascular disease. 7 In good agreement with the nonauditory noise reaction proposed by Babisch, Wojciechowska et al 2 demonstrate the interplay between noise annoyance and arterial disease progression, as decreases in blood pressure and pulse wave velocity were accompanied by decreased noise annoyance in exposed subjects, as a result of the COVID-19 lockdown–induced short-term reduction in noise levels. Conversely, the cumulative and long-lasting effect of chronic noise exposure on arterial disease progression over time is represented by an increased prevalence of hypertension in exposed subjects.…”

Impact of the first announced state of emergency owing to coronavirus disease 2019 on stress and blood pressure levels among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus in Japan

“…Wojciechowska et al . 39 reported that aircraft noise reduction during the lockdown was associated with a decrease in BP. This suggests that a reduction in daily social stress might lower BP, even during lockdown.…”

Plasma metabolomics analyses highlight the multifaceted effects of noise exposure and the diagnostic power of dysregulated metabolites for noise-induced hearing loss in steel workers

“…In a recent study, the causal association between diesel exhaust exposure and dysfunction of immune response was confirmed, and the usefulness of metabolomic analysis was shown (Cheng et al, 2022). The multiple adverse impacts on the health of noise exposure were reported in plenty of studies (Essers et al, 2022;Wojciechowska et al, 2022), and its associations with immune response were also indicated. Consistently, in this study, a variety of biological processes associated with the DMs-NE were shown.…”