The role of aircraft noise annoyance and noise sensitivity in the association between aircraft noise levels and hypertension risk: results of a pooled analysis from seven European countries

Introduction Many studies, including the HYENA and the DEBATS studies, showed a significant association between aircraft noise exposure and the risk of hypertension. Few studies have considered aircraft noise annoyance and noise sensitivity as factors of interest, especially in relation to hypertension risk, or as mediating or modifying factors. The present study aims 1) to investigate the risk of hypertension in relation to aircraft noise annoyance or noise sensitivity; and 2) to examine the role of modifier or mediator of these two factors in the association between aircraft noise levels and the risk of hypertension. Methods This study included 6,105 residents of ten European airports from the HYENA and DEBATS studies. Information on aircraft noise annoyance, noise sensitivity, and demographic, socioeconomic and lifestyle factors was collected during an interview performed at home. Participants were classified as hypertensive if they had either blood pressure levels above the WHO cut-off points or physician-diagnosed hypertension in conjunction with the use of antihypertensive medication. Outdoor aircraft noise exposure was estimated for each participant's home address. Poisson regression models with adjustment for potential confounders were used. Interactions between noise exposure and country were tested to consider possible differences between countries. Results An increase in aircraft noise levels at night was weekly but significantly associated with an increased risk of hypertension (RR=1.03, 95% CI 1.01-1.06 for a 10-dB(A) increase in Lnight). A significant association was found between aircraft noise annoyance and hypertension risk (RR=1.06, 95%CI 1.00-1.13 for highly annoyed people compared to those who were not highly annoyed). The risk of hypertension was slightly higher for people highly sensitive to noise compared to people with low sensitivity in the UK (RR=1.29, 95%CI 1.05-1.59) and in France (RR=1.11, 95%CI 0.68-1.82), but not in the other countries. The association between aircraft noise levels and the risk of hypertension was higher among highly sensitive participants (RR=1.00, 95%CI 0.96-1.04; RR=1.03, 95%CI 0.90-1.11; RR=1.12, 95%CI 1.01-1.24, with a 10-dB(A) increase in Lnight for low, medium, and high sensitive people respectively) or, to a lesser extent, among highly annoyed participants (RR=1.06, 95%CI 0.95-1.18 for a 10-dB(A) increase in Lnight among highly annoyed participants, and RR=1.02, 95%CI 0.99-1.06 among those not highly annoyed). Conclusions The present study confirms findings in the small number of available studies to date suggesting adverse health effects associated with aircraft noise annoyance and noise sensitivity. The findings also indicate possible modifier effects of aircraft noise annoyance and noise sensitivity in the relationship between aircraft noise levels and the risk of hypertension. However, further investigations are needed to better understand this role using specific methodology and tools related to mediation analysis and causal inference.