Study found people who live near airports may have an elevated
risk of high blood pressure due to noise pollution and scientists
suggested them to find a new home, media reported Monday quoting
the journal Epidemiology.
Dr. Mats Rosenlund of the Karolinska Institute in
Stockholm,Sweden, and associates found that among more than 2,000
men followed for a decade, those who lived in areas with the
greatest noise from a nearby airport had a higher risk of
developing high blood pressure.
It's possible that the constant noise of planes buzzing overhead
is a source of chronic stress for some of these individuals, which
in turn may raise their blood pressure, explained Rosenlund.
"It is thought that aircraft noise causes stress problems when
it interferes with people's ability to think, relax or sleep, for
example," said Rosenlund.
The study involved 2,027 men from four municipalities
surrounding the Stockholm Arlanda airport who were free of high
blood pressure at the study's outset. Their aircraft-noise exposure
was estimated using government air traffic data, and the
researchers tracked any new diagnoses of high blood pressure over
the next 10 years.
In general, the 20 percent of men exposed to the highest average
levels of airplane noise were 19 percent more likely to develop
high blood pressure than their counterparts with lower-level noise
exposure, the researchers report.
A large European study involving multiple airports is underway,
he noted, and it may provide a more definitive answer.
For now, Rosenlund said he would hesitate to recommend that
people living near airports find a new home. On the other hand, he
pointed out, people who are "constantly annoyed" by airplane noise
might want to consider a neighborhood more conducive to their
overall happiness.
(Agencies via Xinhuenet November 19, 2007)