Incidence of depression in relation to transportation noise exposure and noise annoyance in the SAPALDIA study

Abstract

Prospective evidence on the risk of depression in relation to transportation noise exposure and noise annoyance is limited and mixed. We aimed to investigate the associations of long-term exposure to source-specific transportation noise and noise annoyance with incidence of depression in the SAPALDIA (Swiss cohort study on air pollution and lung and heart diseases in adults) cohort.We investigated 4,581 SAPALDIA participants without depression in the year 2001/2002. Corresponding oneyear mean road, railway and aircraft day-evening-night noise (Lden) was calculated at the most exposed façade of the participants' residential floors, and transportation noise annoyance was assessed on an 11-point scale. Incident cases of depression were identified in 2010/2011, and comprised participants reporting physician diagnosis, intake of antidepressant medication or having a short form-36 mental health score < 50. We used robust Poisson regressions to estimate the mutually adjusted relative risks (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) of depression, independent of traffic-related air pollution and other potential confounders.Incidence of depression was 11 cases per 1,000 person-years. In single exposure models, we observed positive but in part, statistically non-significant associations (per 10 dB) of road traffic Lden [RR: 1.06 (0.93, 1.22)] and aircraft Lden [RR: 1.19 (0.93, 1.53)], and (per 1-point difference) of noise annoyance [RR: 1.05 (1.02, 1.08)] with depression risk. In multi-exposure model, noise annoyance effect remained unchanged, with weaker effects of road traffic Lden [(RR: 1.02 (0.89, 1.17)] and aircraft Lden [(RR: 1.17 (0.90, 1.50)]. However, there were statistically significant indirect effects of road traffic Lden [(β: 0.02 (0.01, 0.03)] and aircraft Lden [β: 0.01 (0.002, 0.02)] via noise annoyance. There were no associations with railway Lden in the single and multiexposure models [(RR both models : 0.88 (0.75, 1.03)]. We made similar findings among 2,885 non-movers, where the effect modification and cumulative risks were more distinct. Noise annoyance effect in non-movers was stronger among the insufficiently active (RR: 1.09; 95%CI: 1.02, 1.17; p interaction = 0.07) and those with daytime sleepiness [RR: 1.07 (1.02, 1.12); p interaction = 0.008]. Cumulative risks of Lden in non-movers showed additive tendencies for the linear cumulative risk [(RR per 10dB of combined sources : 1.31 (0.90, 1.91)] and the categorical cumulative risk [(RR triple-vs. zero-source ≥45 dB : 2.29 (1.02, 5.14)], and remained stable to noise annoyance.Transportation noise level and noise annoyance may jointly and independently influence the risk of depression. Combined long-term exposures to noise level seems to be most detrimental, largely acting via annoyance. The moderation of noise annoyance effect by daytime sleepiness and physical activity further

Road traffic noise and cardiovascular disease risk factors in UK Biobank

“…Recently, the population-based SAPALDIA cohort in Switzerland found significant enrichment of DNA methylation relating to CRP, independent of other noise sources and air pollution, with road L den exposure. 36 This is in line with findings from novel experimental models, which found that traffic noise could induce oxidative stress and inflammation in the blood and the vasculature via an increased level of angiotensin II. 1 More evidence is needed to support this novel mechanism through systemic inflammation for the association between traffic noise and health outcomes.…”

The Burden of Disease Due to Road Traffic Noise in Hesse, Germany

“…Our own review found four high-quality prospective studies published since 2016 that reported risks ranging between 1.04 and 1.28 [32][33][34][35], although only half of these results achieved statistical significance [5,32,33]. A newer prospective study from Switzerland also found an increased risk of depression (RR = 1.06, 95% CI 0.93-1.22) that did not achieve statistical significance (possibly in part due to the low incidence of depression in the cohort: 11 cases per 1000 person-years) [36]. Nevertheless, we decided to include depression in our core analyses to determine depression attributable to road-traffic noise.…”

Multiple environmental exposures along daily mobility paths and depressive symptoms: a smartphone-based tracking study

“…In contrast, greater exposure to noise and air pollution has been associated with increased risk of depression (Braithwaite et al, 2019;Dzhambov & Lercher, 2019;Eze et al, 2020). The relationship between noise and poorer mental health may be mediated by noise annoyance, neighbourhood restorative quality, physical activity and sleep disturbance (Dzhambov et al, 2018;van den Bosch & Meyer-Lindenberg, 2019).…”