Objectives: To analyze whether living close to a busy road would increase the risk of having cardiac disease and hypertension.
Study design: Longitudinal cross-sectional study.
Methods: We used cross-sectional longitudinal questionnaire data from the RHINE study for Tartu in 2000/2001 and 2011/2012. Home addresses of the respondents were geocoded and traffic data obtained from annually conducted traffic counts in Tartu. Relationships between proximity to a busy road and self-reported cardiac disease and hypertension were analyzed with multiple logistic regression.
Results: In terms of total traffic (≥10,000 vehicles per day) within a 150-m zone of a busy road, the odds ratio (OR) for prevalence of cardiac disease was significant in 2000/2001 (1.91, 95% CI 1.15-3.16) and 2011/2012 (1.58, 95% CI 1.01-2.47). Prevalence of hypertension was significant only in 2011/2012 (1.61, 95% CI 1.08-2.39). In terms of heavy duty vehicle traffic (≥500 vehicles per day) within a 150-m zone in 2000/2001, the OR was 1.52 (95% CI 1.04-2.24) and 1.49 (95% CI 1.02-2.17) respectively for the prevalence of cardiac disease and hypertension. In 2011/2012 no significant relationship between heavy duty vehicle traffic and cardiac disease or hypertension was found. We also saw a significant relationship between total traffic and the onset of cardiac disease (OR = 2.04, 95% CI 1.07-3.87).
Conclusions: This study showed that living closer than 150 m to a busy road can increase the odds of having cardiac disease and hypertension, which should be taken into account in city planning.
Keywords: Cardiac disease; Odds ratio; Onset; Prevalence; Traffic proximity.
Copyright © 2015 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.