Relationship between environmental noise and myocardial infarction risk

Abstract

Long-term noise exposure is associated with adverse health effects and may contribute to the progression of ischemic heart disease (IHD). The aim of our study was to determine whether exposure to road traffic noise in residential area increases the risk of myocardial infarction (MI). We conducted a populationbased case-control study among men aged 25-64 years residing in Kaunas. The study included all cases of first time MI diagnosed in 1997 - 2004. Questionnaires to subjects elicited information regarding MI risk factors, including residential history. We measured noise level near main streets in 117 Kaunas electoral districts and linked these data to residential addresses. The effect of noise exposure on MI was estimated using multivariate logistic regression. After adjustment for age, smoking, blood pressure, body mass index (BMI), stress and subjective noise annoyance, the risk of MI was higher by 17% for the men exposed to medium noise levels (OR=1.17; 95% CI 0.99-1.39) and by 30% for those exposed to high noise levels (OR=1.30; 95% CI 0.88-1.92). Among subgroup aged 55-64 years the excess risk of MI was found to be higher by 28% and 70%, respectively. These results indicate that urban traffic noise increases the risk of MI. However, we could not exclude that other environmental and lifestyle factors may contribute to the observed results.