Researchers analyzed questionnaire data from 24,238 people, ages 18 to 80, about their exposure to regular traffic noise. The scientists found that blood pressure rose by more than 25 percent for people who heard noise above 60 decibels every day. Hypertension risk increased as noise level rose.
Additionally, blood pressure risk spiked past 90 percent for noise levels above 64 decibels. (The effects were more apparent in adults ages 40 to 59.)
What is it about traffic noise that might cause blood pressure to soar? Researchers suggest that it’s the stress and sleep disruption road noise causes.
In the long term, these annoyances might also lead to the development of cardiovascular disease and stroke, researchers say.
But Alan Maryon-Davis, MSc, FFPH, president of the United Kingdom’s Faculty of Public Health, expressed some skepticism about the findings.
“It seems to me that they have found an association rather than a cause,” Maryon-Davis said. “However, it is an area of research which merits further work.”
Maryon-Davis said other factors, such as smoking, diet and deprivation, are more likely to play a role in high blood pressure.
Find out how you can get tested for hypertension here.
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