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Airport Neighbors Association |
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A recent European study show determental effects of noise on people, especially school children. |
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http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSL1285133620080213 Airport noise instantly boosts blood pressure Reuters - Tue Feb 12, 2008 8:41pm EST By Michael Kahn LONDON (Reuters) - Living near an airport isn't just irritating, it is also unhealthy, researchers said on Wednesday, in a study that showed loud noise instantly boosts a
sleeping person's blood pressure. The louder the noise, the higher a person's blood pressure went, a finding that suggests people who live near airports may have a greater risk of health problems, said Lars Jarup, who led the
European Commission-funded study. "Living near airports where you have exposure to night time aircraft noise is a major issue," Jarup, an environmental health researcher at the University of Glasgow, told Reuters.
"The reason we did airports is because there was no study that has looked at particular problems of aircraft noise." High blood pressure can lead to stroke, heart failure, heart attack and kidney failure. It affects
more than a billion adults worldwide. The research team showed that people living for at least five years near a busy airport and under a flight path have a greater risk of developing chronic high blood pressure, also known as
hypertension, than those who live in quieter areas. That study of nearly 5,000 people found that an increase in night time airplane noise of 10 decibels increased the risk of high blood pressure by 14 percent in both men and
women. "We know that noise from air traffic can be a source of irritation, but our research shows that it can also be damaging for people's health, which is particularly significant in light of plans to expand international
airports," Jarup said. In the four-year study, published in the European Heart Journal, the researchers remotely measured the blood pressure of 140 volunteers every 15 minutes while they slept in their homes near London's
Heathrow airport -- one of the busiest in the world -- and three other major European airports. They used digital recorders to determine what noises had the biggest impact on blood pressure, ranging from road traffic to a
partner's snoring to an airplane taking off or landing. The Decibel level, not a sound's origin, was the key factor, but airplanes had the most significant impact, Jarup said. "Most of the time you will find road traffic
noise is not too bad during the night," he said. "If you live near an airport where there are night flights, that is quite another story." (Reporting by Michael Kahn, Editing by Maggie Fox and ) Night-time noise from aircraft or traffic can increase a person's blood pressure even if it does not wake them. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080213090530.htm Aircraft Noise Raises Blood Pressure
Even While People Are Sleeping, Says Study ScienceDaily (Feb. 13, 2008) The researchers measured the volunteers' blood pressure remotely at 15-minute intervals and then analysed how this related to the noise recorded in the
volunteers' bedrooms. People with high blood pressure (hypertension) have an increased risk of developing heart disease, stroke, kidney disease and dementia. High blood pressure is defined by World Health Organisation as being
140/90mmHg or more. The researchers found that volunteers' blood pressure increased noticeably after they experienced a 'noise event' -- a noise louder than 35 decibels -- such as aircraft travelling overhead, traffic passing
outside, or a partner snoring. This effect could be seen even if the volunteer remained asleep and so was not consciously disturbed. Aircraft noise events caused an average increase in systolic blood pressure of 6.2 mmHg and an
average increase in diastolic blood pressure of 7.4 mmHg. Similar increases in blood pressure were seen also for other noise sources such as road traffic. The researchers found that the increase in blood pressure was related to
the loudness of the noise, so that a greater increase in blood pressure could be seen where the noise level was higher. For example, for every 5dB increase in aircraft noise at its loudest point, there was an increase of 0.66 mmHg
in systolic blood pressure. The decibel level - and not the origin of the sound - was the key factor in determining the effect that each noise event had on the volunteers' blood pressure, with similar effects regardless of the
type of noise, where the 'loudness' of the noise was the same. The research follows recent findings by the same researchers, showing that people who have been living for at least five years near an international airport, under a
flight path, have a greater risk of developing high blood pressure than a population living in quieter areas. That study, published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, showed that an increase in night-time aeroplane
noise of 10dB increased the risk of high blood pressure by 14 per cent in both men and women. Dr Lars Jarup, one of the authors of the study from the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at Imperial College London, said:
"We know that noise from air traffic can be a source of irritation, but our research shows that it can also be damaging for people's health, which is particularly significant in light of plans to expand international airports.
Our studies show that night-time aircraft noise can affect your blood pressure instantly and increase the risk of hypertension. It is clear to me that measures need to be taken to reduce noise levels from aircraft, in particular
during night-time, in order to protect the health of people living near airports." The researchers are continuing their analyses to find out whether combined exposure to noise and air pollution increases the risk of heart
disease. Both studies were carried out as part of the Hypertension and Exposure to Noise near Airports (HYENA) project, a four-year study exploring the health effects associated with exposure to aircraft noise. The project
includes cross-sectional studies near major airports in Germany (Berlin Tegel), Greece (Athens), Italy (Milano Malpensa), the Netherlands (Amsterdam Schiphol), Sweden (Stockholm Arlanda) and the UK (London Heathrow), including a
total of 5,000 study subjects. Dr Jarup is the Principal Investigator for HYENA. Adapted from materials provided by Noise: How it affects your body Tue Sep 25, 2007 8:03 am (PST)
from: New Scientist - Published: 9/24/2007 1:16 AM How could exposure to noise have such devastating effects on human health as causing cardiovascular disease? Key to solving this puzzle is recognizing that noise can create a
form of chronic stress that keeps our bodies in a state of constant alert. Research published in 2006 by Wolfgang Babisch of Germany's Federal Environmental Agency in Berlin shows that even when you are asleep, your ears, brain and
body continue to react to sounds, raising levels of stress hormones such as cortisol, adrenalin and noradrenalin. This makes evolutionary sense, as all animals need to be alert to threats even when they are asleep, so they can
wake up and flee if necessary, researchers say. However, if these stress hormones are in constant circulation, they can cause long-term physiological changes that could be life-threatening. The end result can be anything from
heart failure and strokes to high blood pressure and immune problems. "All this is happening imperceptibly, and this is the key," says Deepak Prasher of University College London, who collaborated on the WHO study.
"Even when you think you're used to noise, these physiological changes are still happening." What's more, there are a wide range of sources of noise stress. Some are big and obvious, such as constant heavy traffic or
aircraft taking off, while others are much more subtle and difficult to define as "pollution," yet can still cause intense anxiety and irritation. In the case of noisy neighbors, for example, stress might be triggered
simply by knowing a neighbor is in, even if they are not being noisy at that point. Noise can aggravate stress still further if it disturbs sleep, which can result in constant fatigue and outbursts of aggressiveness and
irritability. People exposed to noise during their sleep have been shown to wake up more often and fidget more in their sleep -- both indicators of sleep disruption. There's also mounting evidence that excessive noise disrupts
learning and education. As far back as 1975, studies in New York showed that the reading skills of children in classrooms next to noisy railways lagged three to four months behind those of their peers in quieter classrooms.
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